Why would God go to all the trouble to endure our bad choices and our flagrant sinning in order to have a relationship with us? Here is a Christmas story as told by Philip Yancey in his book “What’s So Amazing About Grace?”
Yancey tells the story of a prodigal daughter who grows up in Traverse City, Michigan. Disgusted with her old-fashioned parents who overreact to her nose ring, the music she listens to, the length of her skirts, she runs away. She ends up in Detroit where she meets a man who drives the biggest car she’s ever seen. The man with the big car – she calls him “Boss” – recognizes that since she’s underage, men would pay premium for her. So she goes to work for him. Things are good for a while. Life is good. But she gets sick for a few days, and it amazes her how quickly the boss turns mean. Before she knows it, she’s out on the street without a penny to her name. She still turns a couple of tricks a night, and all the money goes to support her drug habit.
One night while sleeping on the metal grates of the city, she began to feel less like a woman of the world and more like a little girl. She begins to whimper. “God, why did I leave? My dog back home eats better than I do now.” She knows that more than anything in the world, she wants to go home. Three straight calls home get three straight connections with the answering machine. Finally she leaves a message: “Mom, Dad, it’s me. I was wondering about maybe coming home. I’m catching a bus up your way, and it’ll get there about midnight tomorrow. If you’re not there, I’ll understand.” During the seven-hour bus ride, she’s preparing a speech for her father. And when the bus comes to a stop in the Traverse City station, the driver announces the 15-minute stop—15 minutes to decide her life.
She walks into the terminal not knowing what to expect. But not one of the thousand scenes that have played out in her mind prepares her for what she sees. There, at the bus terminal in Traverse City, Michigan, stands a group of 40 brothers and sisters, great aunts, uncles and cousins, and a grandmother and a great-grandmother to boot. They’re all wearing goofy party hats and blowing noise-makers, and taped across the entire wall of the terminal is a computer-generated banner that reads “Welcome Home!”
Out of the crowd of well-wishers breaks her dad. She stares out through the tears quivering in her eyes and begins her memorized speech. He interrupts her. “Hush, child. We’ve got no time for that. No time for apologies. We’ll be late. A big party is waiting for you at home.”
What did this story have to do with Christmas? Christmas is all about God’s grace. Grace means gift. What greater gift could man be given? God’s grace sent His Son to be born in a fallen world so that He could die for sinful man. Man didn’t ask for help. Man didn’t deserve help. Man didn’t even want help. But God cares about us more than we care about ourselves. This, my friends, is the story of Christmas. It’s the story of the Grace of God poured out on you and me.
Listen to Pastor Jack’s sermons on the way to church every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. on 98.9 WSIP FM. To read more of Pastor Jack Ward’s articles and hear his sermons at Tomahawk Missionary Baptist Church go to tomahawkmbc.com. Watch his sermons on his Facebook page. Find him on Rumble, Bitchute and Brighteon video platforms.