Tearfund Ambassador Germaine Leong asks whether we can accept the gospel into our hearts afresh this Christmas, even when the headlines are far from good news?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
As this year has revealed, our world is ever more gripped by devastation and desperate for good news.
I decided to serve as an Alpha Course host just over one year ago because I wanted to share the hope I found in Jesus.
When Alpha moved online due to the pandemic, I wondered how people would engage in a time of such global upheaval.
Despite my apprehension, people from all backgrounds, beliefs and creeds congregated for what became a community where, week by week, the gospel was shared.
I had the privilege of witnessing some of our guests place their hope and trust in Jesus. By God’s grace, I too was reacquainted with the joy of the gospel.
The joy of receiving the person of Jesus who, being God divine, stepped into humanity, was born and walked among us and offered himself as a sacrifice for our rebellion.
This act of God is by far the best good news and more relevant to us today than ever. To me, Christmas announces the most joyous headline of all - Christ placing me as a recipient within God’ gracious, redemptive plan.
The prophet Jeremiah spoke of such a time when God Himself would put the law within people and write it on their hearts (Jeremiah 31:33).
Here, God would offer the antidote for the human condition: Jesus. He emancipates us from the curse of sin; He is the fulfilment of
God’s perfect justice and love, intersecting the rebellion deep within all human hearts. We did not deserve such a salvation.
This was an overt divine rescue operation that could only be conceived in the mind of God and enacted by God. He has done this for you and I.
This Christmas, I wonder if like me, you will accept the gospel into your heart again, at a time when the headlines are far from good news?
Will God’s radical gift of grace provoke you to hear the gospel afresh in the midst of a world in turmoil?
Will you receive the gospel gift that intersects all the suffering that our world holds?
In receiving Jesus alone, we have joy, for indeed he is with us.
Germaine is a Tearfund Ambassador based in Melbourne.
We invite you to prayerfully consider joining this work of restoration and hope by supporting Tearfund’s partners to overcome poverty and injustice.
