I was very excited to invite my teen daughter to the movie since it was our first official day of Thanksgiving break. The fact that she had an unchurched friend visiting was just an added bonus. What a great witnessing opportunity to have someone see John 3:16 come to life, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”
With teens, there has to be some form of bribery involved in order to get them to wake up before 11 am, especially if it is for an animated film guaranteed to attract a theater full of preschoolers. So, I used a mall trip as a bargaining tool. Well, you’d think I’d ask them to jump off a cliff or something horrid like that. "What, you want us to see an animated Christian film on our first day of break?"
Blah, blah, blah, whine, whine, whine, complain, complain, complain.
I did the whole “FINE” mom voice and let them skip the movie. While they walked the mall, I took myself to the movies and enjoyed a theater full of appreciative preschoolers (who are better movie critics anyways). They all clapped at the end of the film.
I have to admit I was disappointed, not because I had to sit in the theater by myself, but because we missed a beautiful opportunity to share the miracle of Christmas with a friend. But, God has an amazing way of speaking to us where we are at. As we were driving to the mall, the car was pretty quiet. I had a Christian radio station playing quietly when all of a sudden a speaker comes on and says something like, “There are friends who are unsaved in your life who are watching you. They don’t know Jesus and don’t have the hope you have. If you don’t show them Jesus then who will?”
That message touched my heart and permeated in the car. My daughter looked at me and said, “Are you mad that we are not going?”
I said, “No, I’m not mad. It’s OK.”
How could I explain, “I’m not mad. I’m sad. I’m disappointed.”
As I watched a truly beautiful film, I got teary eyed with this little sheep called Ruth. Ruth had left her flock behind to follow the star because she knew the star would lead her to something wonderful. She tells her little donkey friend, “When I first saw the star, I tried to tell my old flock to follow it with me but they wouldn’t so I struck out on my own. It was hard.”
I often feel like that little sheep because sometimes I’m so excited to tell my old flock that there’s a wonderful promise of a Savior waiting for us under the Light of that Star, but they won’t follow me. So I’m left to strike out on my own. And it is hard. But Jesus never promised us the road to follow Him would be easy. He actually warned us that it would be hard and that not many would follow. BUT He promised it would be worth it.
It would be so worth it!
John 1:10-16
Jesus was in the world, and though God made the world through him, yet the world did not recognize him. He came to his own country, but his own people did not receive him. Some, however, did receive him and believed in him; so he gave them the right to become God's children. They did not become God's children by natural means, that is, by being born as the children of a human father; God himself was their Father.
Jesus became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he received as the Father's only Son....
Out of the fullness of his grace he has blessed us all, giving us one blessing after another.
This holiday season, go see The Star movie. Invite a friend who needs the hope of Christmas, which is literally "more of Christ". Don’t grow weary of being Ruth, the little sheep. Not all will follow but some might. Some will follow us to see and receive Jesus, the Everlasting Light, the Bright and Morning Star, Prince of Peace, the Savior of World. The people around us are watching us. Are they seeing Jesus in us? Are we sharing the hope of Jesus with them, because if not us, then who?
Happy Thanksgiving!
Love,
Yolanda
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