Five Stars
By Dean Honeycutt
Mitchell County
While traveling out west in Montanna, Wyoming, and South Dakota one can drive for miles across large tracts of wilderness. It is beautiful out there. On the way home just north of the Badlands we were looking for a place to stay and we came upon a motel in the middle of nowhere. The next large town was a long way down the road, and we were tired and ready for a rest. We were able to get two of the last rooms available and the folks in line behind us were turned away.
I had booked every lodging place except for this one. We often look at ratings and reviews before we decide to stay somewhere. I will not stay somewhere that has bad reviews. And I will not stay in a place that may not be safe, it’s just not wise. So, a four-to-five-star rating is what I am looking for.
When we opened the door to our rooms we were not impressed. The place was not very clean, and we saw bugs on the floor. My mom was looking for bed bugs and we had to get clean sheets. The manager was not very nice or accommodating, to say the least. We made do for one night and would not go back to this place. We often joke about this place now. Compared to the other places we stayed in on our trip this place was a dump. If someone knew the condition of the rooms beforehand, they would not choose to stay in this place.
Why would God leave heaven to come to earth? What kind of review and star rating would God give Earth? Just think for a moment you are staying at the finest resort on earth with all the amenities you can imagine, great food, and maid service. You have it made and you are staying in paradise. Would you leave the resort and go to the roach motel? Of course not. You would not leave a five-star resort to go to a horrible motel. Earth is not a good place to stay when compared to heaven, there is no comparison.
Just think for a moment God leaves the glories of heaven to come to earth. Most people do not leave the comforts of their homes to be homeless. It does not make sense. I am not going to do that and most people I know are not going to do that. But Jesus left His home to come to earth. But not only did He leave His home He also took on human flesh so He could experience the sorrow and suffering of humanity. Jesus emptied Himself of what makes Him God and was born in the likeness of man. Why would God deprive Himself of almighty power and glory to come to earth?
Philippians 2:5–8
“5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
The reason God left paradise to come to earth is love and grace. For God so loved the world that He gave us His only Son. God’s gift to us is Jesus. The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Everything that Jesus went through is just the opposite of what we would do for our children. We would not send our child to stay at a horrible motel. But God sent Jesus to earth. We would not want them to be born in a stable for animals. We would not wrap them in peasant clothes. We would not want them to suffer. We would not let them be punished for the crimes of another person. And we would not forsake them when they needed us the most. But Jesus did come to a sinful world, He did live without a home, He did receive punishment for sin, and He suffered and died for us.
Christmas is about Jesus. Let’s help our children remember what Jesus did for us and the reason we celebrate Christmas. Let’s remember that our blessings and comforts come from God. Don’t let the world and commercialism steal the true meaning of Christmas. It is amazing the amount of time and money we put into making our children happy at Christmas to see the joy on their faces on Christmas morning. We do all this because we love them and want them to be happy.
We will never comprehend God’s love for us and the expense God paid for our grace.
Merry Christmas,
Pastor Dean and Pam Honeycutt
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Pastor Dean Honeycutt shepherds Snow Hill Baptist Church in Bakersville, NC. He may be reached at 828-385-0213, snowhillbaptist@gmail.com, or visit their website at www.snowhillbaptist.com.
You can read more good Christian news from Dean HERE.
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