The Visit

 

Isn’t it lovely having visitors? We especially look forward to visits from loved ones we don’t get to see very often. Larry and I recently had the joy of going to visit with his sisters and then my sister for a short time. We packed in all the talking and eating and Yahtzee playing we could! We took things to leave with them so they’d remember we had been there—not big things, but reminders of our love.

Of course, those who are nearby can be just as dear. As I write this short piece--two days before Christmas, one of our granddaughters is spending the night with us. When she goes home tomorrow, I will look back on the visit and remember our fun. The mealtime conversations, the puzzles and the coloring, the bedtime stories, and even the dance party after dinner will be recalled as we look around where our dear girl sat and played.

It’s Christmas now, and we’re remembering that Jesus came to earth. J.B. Phillips’ book Good News has a chapter titled “The Christian Year.” The first section of that chapter is The Meaning of Advent. It’s a section full of uplifting and challenging thoughts, but this simple sentence stands out to me: “Nothing can alter the fact that we live on a visited planet.” Jesus has been here. If we were to go to the Holy Land, we could walk where he walked and see some of the scenery he looked on as he lived out his years on Earth.

Even though Jesus in the flesh did not walk the streets of Chattanooga or ride a boat on the Tennessee River, we can nonetheless see evidence of his visit with us. Because Jesus visited Earth, people are changed. At this time of year, we go out of our way to bake cookies, to find the best gifts, to decorate our homes and welcome people in. These customs are evidence that Jesus visited us and left His mark.

Obviously, people whose hearts have not been changed by Jesus can do these same wonderful things, but James tells us that “every good gift . . . is from above,” and there is no doubt that a Christian influence creates a kinder society.

During the year to come, we will have many opportunities to help others or to receive aid ourselves. Let us see these times as remnants of Jesus’s time on Earth. Let us remember His visit and continue in the things He showed us.

--Sherry Poff