Imagine for a moment that a very kind, wealthy man lived in your neighborhood. You'd heard about him from other neighbors. You'd seen evidence of the good things he had done for the community. But you'd never met the man personally. What you didn't know was that while you were only remotely aware of his existence, he knew everything about you. He knew where you were raised, he knew your parents, he saw you sitting on the curb as a young child, crying because you had fallen off your bike and skinned your knees. He'd seen you when you were devastated over the loss of a good friend or family member, and his heart went out to you.
He had actually been very interested in meeting you for quite some time, but he saw that you always seemed so busy, rushing here and there, taking care of whatever seemed most important to you at the time.
A few years went by, and he passed away unexpectedly, at a relatively young age, having never met you. A few days later, you received a letter in the mail from a presigious law firm, informng you that he had named you as a beneficiary in his will. Perplexed by the news, but cautiously excited, you drive to their office for the reading of his will.
To your complete and utter shock, you learn that this man who had never met you left you his entire fortune. It was all yours...........everything. All you had to do was sign for it.
As you stepped back and looked at the list of all that was available to you, it became clear that you would never again have to worry about your future. Every single need you might ever have for the remainder of your life would be met. As you begin to learn more about this man, you find that he earned every penny he had ever made through hard work, discipline, and a determination to do what was right no matter the cost. His life was not an easy one. And yet, he left all of that to you. "Why would he do something like that?" you think to yourself. "I don't deserve this."
You accept what was left to you, and go on your way. As the years pass, you become comfortable with all that you have. You eventually all but forget about this man. I mean, sure, you think about him every now and then. You believe that he was a good man, and that he was good to you. But you rarely if ever speak about him or even truly allow yourself to give him much thought.
After a few more years, the people of your town look at the little memorials that had been built to him for being such a positive force in the lives of the people he had touched. They never knew this man, and they wonder why these memorials should remain. After all, there are hundreds of them. They clutter the sidewalks and mark the scenery. People begin to become offended that everywhere they go, they have to see these things.
You know that this was a very good man who was worthy of these small tokens of rememberance, but you stand by silently as the townspeople begin to tear them down one by one. Before long, there is no memory of this man.
Shortly after this, the town faces an enormous financial crisis. The leaders within this town break the news that the town will not survive unless some sort of miracle occurs. Everything they have will be lost.
Upon hearing the news, this man's father, who was still alive, incredibly wealthy, and who knew of his son's love for the people of this town, arranged to stop by for a visit. Upon arriving there, he saw how every last memory of his son had been removed because people found those memorials offensive.
Would you expect this man to open his arms to the people and graciously offer to help them through their dire circumstances? Or would you expect him to walk away?
If you answered this the way I would expect you to, then why do we sit by silently as we watch nativity scenes being removed from public property because a select few are offended by them? Why do we say nothing as we learn that the name of Jesus cannot be spoken in our public schools, our courtrooms, our brought up by our political leaders? Why do we allow corporations like Wal-Mart to insist that their employees, many of whom share our faith, do not speak the words "Merry Christmas," instead replacing those words with "Happy Holidays?"
In Luke 9:26, Jesus said the following:
"Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels."
I don't know about you, but I am not ashamed of my faith. When I leave Wal-Mart and hear the words "Happy Holidays," I will respond with "No, Merry Christmas..........and thank you." Christmas is the day we mark to celebrate the greatest gift we've ever been given. And just like the story about about the man who left all of his riches to an undeserving man, who never knew him when he passed away, we can all share in an inheritance we have in no way earned.
If that offends some in our society who refuse to accept that inheritance, I will offer no apologies, nor will I keep silent about how great that inheritance is
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