December 24, 2020
Three Legs Of Stable
Most of us have had at some point had a chair or table with a leg either too short or too long that leads to an inherent instability, fancy way of saying it wobbles. Maybe you cut that leg off to stabilize it, only to find that when you moved it to another spot in the room or house it wobbled again. You may also know from experience that, if you put a three-legged table or chair on that same surface it will absolutely not wobble, it will be solidly stable. Why does that make any difference? I compare it to what all of us are looking for a solid stable life, it comes down to what we put our hope and trust in to get there.
A couple of weekends ago, many of us experienced the drive through Nativity in our church parking lot. We saw the most important three legs of our lives, faith, and future hope on display in just a few minutes. We first saw the wonder of a babe born in a drafty stable and laid in a manger, sent to be, “Immanuel,” God with us. Then as we turned the corner we were confronted with a bloody cross and an open tomb.
Where would we be without all three of these, “Legs?” We would be without hope in this world and none for a future. If only we had a baby come to this world who grew up and lived a perfect life, we would simply be shown how pathetically weak and full of shortcomings we are. What if Jesus, even in His perfection died on that cruel cross; as nice as that was, I will die eventually also so it would only prove that all will die. If the tomb wasn’t open, the stone not rolled away, it would only have proved that the end will come for us all.
These three magnificent legs, Jesus coming to our world in that stable and living a perfect life, His choosing to give His life for my sin and yours in a most cruel punishment, and three days later taking His life back raised victor over sin and death. This Christmas season I have been touched by the importance of celebrating all three legs of this wonder in equal amounts of reverence, awe and hope.
Romans 8:24-25 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, through perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
Hope, it’s what keeps us going in this life, we’ve heard of the number of people that have lost it this year and either contemplated or acted on ending their own life. Tonight, in your homes, if you have children you are seeing what it means to wait eagerly. I can remember in my youth barely being able to wait till Christmas Eve night. While those gifts were fun to get, and there was joy in giving, they pale in comparison to the hope we have in Jesus. This past weekend, as pastor preached about reason for hope, the words of a hymn came to mind. It’s not a Christmas hymn but, definitely reason to celebrate and wait eagerly for Jesus.
May I then in Him be found,
Ron Mathre
My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less written by: Edward Mote
1. My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
2. When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
3. His oath, His covenant, and blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When every earthly prop gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
4. When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found,
Clothed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne!
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.