Christmas reveals a God who is trustworthy …

There’s a moving story I heard so long ago I don’t remember the original source, but it’s about two childhood buddies who went through school and college and even joined the army together. War broke out and they were fighting in the same unit. One night they were ambushed.

Bullets were flying all over and out of the darkness came a voice, “Harry, please come and help me!”

Harry immediately recognized the voice of his childhood buddy, Bill. He asked his sergeant if he could go. The sergeant said, “No, I can’t let you go, I am already short-handed and I cannot afford to lose one more person. Besides, the way Bill sounds he is not going to make it.”

Harry kept quiet.

Again the voice came, “Harry, please come and help me!”

Harry sat quietly because the sergeant had refused earlier.

Again and again the voice came.

Harry couldn’t contain himself any longer and told the sergeant, “Sergeant, this is my childhood buddy. I have to go and help!”

The sergeant reluctantly let him go. Harry crawled through the darkness and dragged Bill back into the trench. They found that Bill was dead.

Now the sergeant became angry and shouted at Harry, “Didn’t I tell you he was not going to make it? He is dead, you could have been killed and I could have lost a hand. That was a mistake!”

Harry replied, “Sergeant, I did the right thing. When I reached Bill he was still alive and his last words were ‘Harry, I knew you would come.'”

When someone is a loyal and faithful friend, when someone really loves you, you can count on them regardless of the circumstances or the cost. Christmas reveals to us that’s the kind of faithful and trustworthy God that we serve.

God had promised a Savior, then came 400 years of silence between the Old Testament and New Testament. But then came that first Christmas …

“But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children,” Galatians 4:4-5.

“And it is one of King David’s descendants, Jesus, who is God’s promised Savior of Israel!” Acts 13:23.

On that first Christmas, God gave the world a Savior, Jesus Christ, who came into the world with the mission of seeking and saving the lost. He was born into the world with a purpose to save us, and He died on a cross to achieve that mission. He would rise from the dead three days later, having conquered both sin and death, and providing a way through Him that we, too, can conquer sin and death.

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago,” Ephesians 2:8-10.

Christmas is glorious evidence that we can rely on God … we could trust Him to come!

“’Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” Matthew 1:23.

God is trustworthy, always keeping His word with a timing that is perfect for His glory and our needs. Are you a trustworthy disciple? Can God count on you?

Scotty