Once a year, for most of the world, we get to celebrate the great occasion of Christmas. It is a day that the "wonder of giving" is positioned at centre stage. As far as the east is from the west, the "celebration of giving" takes complete prominence and preeminence. For one day a year, the world halts it's intense preoccupation with accumulating for self, and in an inspired moment, inclines itself to the beauty and the joy of "giving unto others".

And for all who participate in the giving, and for all who participate in the receiving, it is a most memorable occasion. And one that seems to unite the world in all "the right ways", and for all "the right reasons", which is in the spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. In the realm of the unseen, it is as if a parallel tree has been mounted in everyone's homes, and on the streets, and in schools and businesses, where the decorations that now twinkle and shine, and that bring cheer to the heart and soul, are those wonderful decorations of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

At Christmas time, the "olive branch" that is universally extended, both within, "towards family", and without, "towards neighbours", is the olive branch of the "Christmas tree". Every home has one, and every city. The streets are filled with the hustle and bustle, and the "abundant life", of Christmas decorations, and with a unity of human activity all focused on what can only be described as "the celebration of life". For the Christmas tree IS "a tree of life". For what else is the celebration "of giving" other than the celebration of life. For in both the giving and the receiving, which is the circle of life, love is breathed into tired and old bones, and light replaces a plethora of shadows of would-be lingering hurts.
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Upon that enormous stage, the Christmas tree makes its "most beautiful statement" when it is lit up "in the darkness", with lights of pure joy and cheer. In the same manner, the "most powerful statement" the Christmas tree makes is when it's base is surrounded with a multitude of beautifully wrapped gifts, gifts that all wear "their best garments" to make sure that they are all fittingly attired for such a grand occasion as is the celebration of giving.

In the same sense, "the Cross" is a Christmas tree, because whilst most people associate the Cross only with the agony of death and painful separation, which is a part that can never be undermined or devalued, that part was just the "curtain raiser". The "main event" was the celebration of giving, and the life-changing event that upon that giving, then ensued immediately thereafter. On that day, the Christmas tree that was the Cross also took complete centre stage on the world stage, just like it does today. And just like the Christmas tree in every home tonight, the Cross is also a massive "celebration of life". Not just a celebration of the resurrection life of Jesus, and a celebration of a life that entirely defeated death, one who then ascended and took His rightful place on the right hand side of the Father in victory, but a celebration of the greatest gesture of giving "that is, that was, and that is to come".

​​​​​​​As the "light of the world", by Jesus placing Himself on that tree, on a high hill that cannot be hidden, all that is the darkness of the world, now gets to participate in the greatest gift ever afforded the human heart and soul. For in that supreme gesture, for each of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, it was in that gesture that a "heart sick through hope deferred", then became "a longing fulfilled that is "a tree of life.""
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Representing a longing fulfilled that is a tree of life, Christmas is the "grand celebration of the life" that came to earth in the form of "a baby born in a manger". In much the same way that in the beginning, where the earth was "without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2), at the time leading up to the miracle birth of Jesus, the earth was "without form" (without righteousness), and "was void" (void of salvation), and "darkness was on the face of the deep" (sin abounded in the deep of man's hearts all across the sea of humanity, like oceans of water upon the earth). And the Spirit of God was hovering like a heart sickened by a "hope deferred" over the face of the waters (over the stagnant waters of man's dead spirit and soul), just like the star of hope and promise that hovered above the baby Jesus.

Upon that momentous occasion of Jesus' birth, His birth represented the same moment for mankind as when God said, ““Let there be light,” and there was light" (Genesis 1:3). Upon the birth of His Son, God let there be a light in the darkness of the world. And in the same way that God saw that the light was good, it was good. And in the same way that there was day and night, through the light of Jesus, God then separated light from darkness. He separated those who are in righteousness (light) from those who are in sin (darkness). For light keeps no company with darkness. "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:15). And again, in much the same way that God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water” (Genesis 1:6), God made "a vault" between heaven and earth, one that can only be "unlocked" by the One who has the key of David. Christ alone, as the light of the world, has the key. It is His, personally. And the key is "the Cross", and "the way" to it is through the "the gospels" (the path of righteousness). "The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn (the gospels), which shines ever brighter until the full light of day (salvation)" (Proverbs 4:18).

Which is also why Jesus was deliberately born "in a manger". A manger is "a feeding trough" for goats. Jesus deliberately presented Himself to the world in a manger, so that all those who are "goats", may come and eat of "the bread of life" that is His body, so that, in Him, they may all become the new creation of "sheep"(Matthew 25:31-4), being those who not only know His voice, but those who listen to His voice (being those who are shepherded by Jesus). Just as a baby, when He "lay down" in a manger, as a man, Jesus "lay down"His life for all of mankind in "a tomb", so that on the third day, that tomb could then become "a womb" of the new birth (new creation) and new life (eternal life) that belongs to all who believe upon Him.

Which is exactly the same thing that on the third day, Genesis 1:12 says, "The land produced vegetation: "plants bearing seed" according to their kinds and "trees bearing fruit with seed in it" according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good." Just like on the third day after the crucifixion, after the seed of Jesus fell to the ground, it produced a tree of life (John 12:24), a tree of righteousness, bearing fruit with seed in it according to His kind, and God saw that it was good. Mankind's Christmas gift is not only the gift of Jesus, but it is the seed of Jesus that turns us all into trees of life (Christmas trees) that bear the fruit of righteousness and life according to His kind. Which is also why, in Genesis 1:27, it says, "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." We need to both "sow seed" (male) and "produce fruit" (female). In other words, as seeds according to the likeness of Christ, we need to all worship "in spirit"(sow seed) and "in truth" (bear fruit) (John 4:24).
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​​​​​​​As I got down on my knees this morning and started praying, I started praying with words that before I closed my eyes to begin praying, I had absolutely no knowledge would be the words coming out of my mouth. And for me, praying often works just like that. I don't necessarily have something specific to ask for or to petition. I often just want to connect with God, to be with my Father, and to honour God as my Father, and to drench myself in His paternal presence and the privilege of His company. For me personally, I have found that the most intense encounter of His presence and refreshing and infilling for me is when I am praying. Praying, for me, is my most real reality. It feels like the most legitimate thing that I can, and could ever, do.

Immediately afterwards, as I began to reflect on the time I had just spent in the company of my Father, and to ponder the delightful phenomenon of how entirely "unprepared words" simply form, and then burst their banks when I get on my knees, it was then that I was reminded that God has said that "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks" (Luke 6:45). On this particular occasion, as I closed my eyes, it was these words that instantly filled the moment, and the room, like a tangible and living presence: "My God! My God! My God!.... YOU, are an AWEsome God!!.... I am SO "in awe" of YOU!... My spirit, and my soul, and my body, are in overwhelming awe of You!"

As I was living the reality of those words, and the reality of them consume every part of my being, words that somehow "come alive" and completely captivate "my entire essence", some recently quoted words describing the late, great R.C. Sproul, suddenly came to mind. Being a man after God's heart, R.C. Sproul took centre stage earlier this month, when he was called to his real home, to the very room that the LORD went back to prepare for each of us in His Father’s house (John 14:2). What an early "Christmas gift", to finally and forever be face-to-face with his most beloved LORD for Christmas. And these were the amazing words by which R.C. Sproul is fondly remembered:
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And as I thought of just how true that is for me too, I suddenly realised how a heart stunned and humbledhas become a "living reality" for me. On a daily basis, as He reveals more and more of Himself, I am in AWE at the sheer mindfulness, the immense thoughtfulness, and the astonishing detail that unravels as God lovingly and willingly "joins more and more dots" for us, like a living Christmas tree that keeps growing larger and larger, in three-dimensional splendour, upon the canvas of our heart and our mind, all connected by the layers of lights that He "one-by-one" switches on through His revelation, and which I know, only barely touches on the sumptuous fullness of heart and the enormous brilliance of mind that belongs to our God, that is entirely "without beginning or end".

My heart, soul, mind and spirit all swoon in unparalleled delight at the gifts of revelation that our Father lovingly brings with each imparting, and at the sheer enormity of the conceptual breakthrough of each revelation. As my soul gathers, like a deer that panteth for water, around the base of the Christmas tree of the gift of His revelations, where with the same eager anticipation of children waiting in animated and hopeful anticipation to open their gifts, I hover and sit at His feet, at the base of the Tree of life, and just like Mary, I sit in a state of excited anticipation for the next treasure that will surely come, like the next wave already forming behind the one that just overwhelmed me. And with each approaching wave, I am in absolute awe of how the father heart of God just "joins the dots", daily, to every reflection, to every question, to every thought, to every dream, to every desire, to every prayer.

Through the gift of Christ, being the central theme of the celebration of Christmas, we all get to be Christmas trees of our own. We need to be a tree that is not only "a witness to the light" of Jesus (sow seed), but a tree that is "a testimony to the love" of Jesus (bear fruit). And we do this by instead of having the fallen nature, which is to accumulate for self, we have the divine nature, which is the lifestyle that celebrates the joy of giving. And just like Jesus was born in a manger, as a new creation in Christ, which is to be a tree of life, and a tree of righteousness, we are all to present ourselves to the world and to our neighbours in "a manger", that we too may be the bread of life, the water of life, the breath of life in the likeness of Him.

That’s why I love trees, because they represent "the art of what is possible in Christ". From a tiny unseen seed (spirit) to something huge that rises out of the dark (overcomes) and above the dark (to separate water from water), reaching up to God, for ever inclined towards the light and towards the heaven into a tree of life that bears fruit not only in summer, but twelve fruits all year round (life abundantly), both in season and out of season. So that that which was unseen (spirit) now becomes seen (truth). So that which was unseen (the seed of first breath of life - Genesis 3:7) now becomes seen (the tree, through fullness of the indwelling Holy Spirit - Luke 3:16; Luke 11:13).

However, despite this one day of immense and glorious celebration of life and of giving, Jesus' heart is still sick with a hope deferred. His hope deferred is that, for all of mankind, that "every day" would be like Christmas, that every day our trees would bear the "fruit of love" and the "heart of giving". So that what was initially the unseen seed that formed man out of the dust of the ground, then becomes the evidence of the fullness of life (what is seen), being a tree of righteousness, a tree of life, by exhaling the 12 fruits of oxygen "all year round"(Revelation 22:2), so that it’s neighbour can also receive "the breath of life" all year round (Matthew 22:39). So that what was once a barren fig tree (Luke 13:6-9) can now become a tree of righteousness, so that for all those who mourn in Zion, we can give unto them beauty for ashes, and the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness (Isaiah 61:3). So that what was once a fruitless steward (Matthew 14:18), can now be turned into the new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) of “another man”, “Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into ANOTHER MAN”. (1 Samuel 10:6 ). That we, too, may start our new life in a manger, being a place of food for goats, that they may all become sheep in Christ through the Christmas tree of life that is the Cross, being those who know the voice of their shepherd, and who are then led to "lay down" in green pastures, and besides the still waters (Psalm 23:2). So that “the old way of living" has disappeared. And that “a new way of living" has come into existence (Romans 4:17).
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It is for this reason that the Lord Himself came to dwell amongst us, that we should all come to know the length and the breadth and the height of Father's heart. For it remains His fervent hope that we should not only be raised "in the last day" as trees of life, but that we all be raised in it's morning too, that we may all be a tree of life to those around us, in THIS lifetime. "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). The living Word is full of signs and wonders. It is not by coincidence that the meaning of the name “ISAIAH”, which is from the Hebrew name יְשַׁעְיָהוּ (Yesha'yahu), means "YAHWEH is salvation”. And as God is both “the author and the finisher” of all things, including our faith, it is not by coincidence that ISAIAH 7:14 is first “authored” by one whose name means “YAHWEW is salvation” and is then “finished” on the promise of that very same salvation by the virgin conceiving and bearing a Son who shall come to dwell amongst us, that we may all inherit that very same salvation. What an AWESOME God is YAHWEH! “For the LORD Most High is AWESOME!” (Psalm 47:2). “O God, You are AWESOME from Your sanctuary!” (Psalm 68:35).

A friend of mine, Pieter Kirstein said this the other day. "People who never renew their minds and old ways of thinking according to God's standard and grand design are always self-absorbed and only live for what they can get out of life. If we all just live to take out of life then what is there left to give? God called us to serve each other in love. God said to me that the only thing that can satisfy true love is the benefit of others yet today the body of Christ suffers and many are in need because most only live to see what they can get out of God. God told me that if all of us lived to serve one another in love, then there would be no needy person in the family of God. True love requires sacrifice. Love is not spoken, it's demonstrated."

Have you ever wondered why God presents Himself as three? As the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? For since we have all been made in the image and likeness of God, we are all to be "a father" to many (to all spiritual widows and orphans), and “a son” to one (to one bloodline, one Spirit, one will), and “a helper” to all our neighbours (through the leading of the Holy Spirit), so that we may not only walk in the three-dimensional fullness of our inheritance and likeness, which is like "a tree of life", but that we may prove our posterity, and that, indeed, the Bloodline does, in fact, run thick and true. The Christmas tree that is every believer makes it's best statement when it is a joyful light in a dark place to draw all those who are in the dark towards it light. And it makes its most powerful statement when it also a tree bearing the fruit of giving, represented by the gifts that surround it's base, like the ripe fruit of a tree in full and permanent blossom.
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