Why did Jesus come?

“Stranger at the Door” is one of my favorite Christmas readings. It is a modern-day parable that explains the reason why Jesus came to be born as a baby and live among us.

It was a snowy Christmas Eve. Inside the warm house, the Christmas tree was cheerfully ablaze with lights and surrounded by dozens of presents.

The man’s wife and children were dressed and ready to leave for church. “Come with us,” they urged, for they loved him.

“Not me,” he snapped. “I don’t believe all that religion garbage.”

For many years the man’s wife had been trying to tell him about Jesus Christ and the salvation He offers. How God’s Son had become a human being in order to show us the way to heaven.

“Nonsense,” the man always said.

The family left for church and the man was all alone in his cozy country home. He glanced out the window at the cold snowy scene outside. Brrr! He turned to warm himself by the fire.

But as he turned, his eyes caught a movement in the snow outside. He looked. Cats! Three young cats were walking slowly past his window.

“The fools,” he thought. “They’ll freeze for sure!” The man put on his hat and coat and opened the door. A blast of wintery air sent a shiver through his body.

“Come here, cats! Come inside where there’s warmth and food. You’ll die out there.” But the cats ran away, frightened by the stranger at the door.

He walked outside. “Come back! Don’t be afraid. I want to save you.”

But the cats were gone. It was too late.

“Well, I did everything I could for them,” the man muttered to himself. “What more could I do? I’d have to become a cat myself in order to reach them and save them. If I became a cat, I could tell them and show them. They would have to believe me then, unless they were fools.”

Just as he reached the door, the church bells rang in the distance. The man paused for a moment and listened.

Then he went in by the fire, got down on his knees and wept.

What happened? The man finally realized what Jesus had done and that he was a fool for not listening to his family. Jesus left the splendor of heaven and humbled Himself to enter into our existence (Philippians 2:5-11), to become “Immanuel” – God with us. He humbled Himself even more to die on a cross, to pay the penalty for sin that we could never pay, to endure the wrath of the Father against sin that we could never endure. O praise His name forever!

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This Sunday, December 29, we will conclude our series, “Your Best Christmas Yet!” with Ephesians 3:20. You can have your best Christmas yet, and your best Life now, because the Lord “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” Please invite someone to join you this Sunday in the building or online for the Live broadcast on either Facebook (Honolulu AG) or our YouTube channel (Honolulu Assembly of God). We Livestream every Sunday to both locations and would love to have you join us. Plus, we will “Undeck the Halls” after the service. All those who are able to help will enjoy a meal together provided by the church.

Coming Up: If you are new to Honolulu Assembly of God and/or are curious about church membership, the “Joy of Belonging” classes will be held the four Sundays in January at 9:30am. And let’s start the New Year Big by joining with other churches all across our nation for the Week of Prayer, January 5-11.

Are you “caught up” with your Year-End Giving for 2024? Be sure to give your offering by Tuesday, December 31: either in person, by mail (PO Box 10369, Honolulu 96816) or online at our secure website (honoluluag.org/giving). Mahalo nui loa for your faithful and generous giving!

Hau’oli Makahiki Hou! (Happy New Year!)