By Doug Redford
Some may remember a TV program, Star Search, which was telecast from 1983 to 1995. On the program, two people competed in a category (such as comedy, singing, and dancing), then they were judged by a panel who gave each performer a certain number of stars in evaluating their performance. Whoever received more stars than their competitor moved on to the next round.
One comedian who appeared on Star Search claimed later that he lost in the semi-final round because (as he put it) he was saving his “A” material (his best material) for the final round. He admitted that, had he used that material sooner, he could have advanced and possibly won the competition in his category.
Perhaps we have wondered at times, “When is God going to use his ‘A’ material? Why does he let things go on as he does? Why doesn’t he move more quickly to right the wrongs in the world? Why doesn’t he deal more aggressively with evil and with Satan?” We are not alone in raising such questions. Bible writers asked them of God as well, as Asaph did in Psalm 77:8: “Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time?”
The message of Christmas is that God has indeed used his “A” material with the arrival of Jesus to rescue our broken world. The writer of Hebrews declared that Jesus is God’s message to humanity “in these last days” (Hebrews 1:1, 2). He came, as the angel told Joseph, “to save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21); and he accomplished that mission by his death on the cross.
The lights and other decorations of Christmas will come down not long after the holiday is over. The cross is meant to stay “up” throughout the year; as Jesus stated, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32), a foreshadowing of the type of death he would die in fulfillment of the angel’s words.
At Communion we remember that God’s “A” material is still relevant. We lift up the cross as we “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). We remember that the Light of the world is still shining and that he shines through us, his people. Followers of Jesus are his “A” material, his ambassadors sent forth to represent him to an increasingly dark and confused world.
Doug Redford has served in the preaching ministry, as an editor of adult Sunday school curriculum, and as a Bible college professor. Now retired, he continues to write and speak as opportunities arise.
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