I don't know about you, but all this Black-Friday-Cyber-Monday-mumbo-jumbo makes my eyes glaze over. Sure its fun to decorate and give presents and create memories, but at the end of the day, what's it all about?
According to the Master, its all about the lost sheep:
Jesus told them this story:
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?
...There is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away! (Luke 15)
As we enter this crazy holiday season, this reminder of Jesus' credo helps reorient me on the point and purpose of Christmas: Jesus came on a rescue mission. Christmas is about God entering our world to bring us to His.
And the baton has been passed to us (John 20:21). The local church exists to Reach the Lost at Any Cost! This is why we do what we do!
Billy Graham said it best when he addressed the Berlin Congress on World Evangelization in 1966:
The evangelistic harvest is always urgent. The destiny of men and of nations is always being decided. Every generation is crucial; every generation is strategic. But we cannot be held responsible for the past generation and we cannot bear full responsibility for the next one. However we do have our generation! God will hold us responsible at the judgement seat of Christ for how well we fulfilled our responsibilities and took advantage of our opportunities.