For the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost” Luke 19:10 KJV There were so many hopes for 2020 and the start of a new decade, but instead we had a year with a host of problems. For most it was a terrible year, for others, in spite of all of the challenges, it was one of the best of their lives. But it surely was not what anyone expected.
Now we are two weeks into 2021 and still waiting to see what challenges and opportunities this year will bring. Will we face more lockdowns? Will life get more or less back to normal? What will the new administration do that will affect us? Many of us will make resolutions to change some aspect of our behavior in. We may want to lose weight, or get in better physical condition or to get promoted at work or develop better personal relationships, but for most of us when night falls on 2020, most of those resolutions will still be unfulfilled, shuffled forward to another year as we continue in a never-ending desire to become a better us.Last fall we released our fourth installment of our Kinsman series--The Land of the Blind. Like the rest of the series, the fourth book follows characters who need to be rescued--either from the consequences of their own actions or the actions of others. I smile when I read reviews of the first three books saying that the books make them wish that "something like this could happen in real life."
We just finished celebrating Christmas, and we looked at nativities and sang songs of the child in the manger, but Christmas is so much more than a sweet story about a little baby who was born in a stable. The cave in which Jesus was born is symbolic of the tomb where He was laid after His crucifixion, and the swaddling clothes in which His parents wrapped him represent the grave cloths. He did not come to earth to be a good man or a good teacher—He was born to die for us in the greatest search and rescue operation of all time. The God of the universe looked down and saw our lonely, lost, dysfunctional world—a world which we were powerless to change—and loved us so much that He sent His only Son to save us. Jesus is our Kinsman Redeemer who came to release our debt, and He extends to each of us the greatest invitation we will ever be offered. But for His invitation to impact us, we must recognize the immense opportunity which we have been offered; then we must be willing to accept it for ourselves and fully embrace our new life. And we have to understand that as we accept the invitation for ourselves, we take on both the ability and the responsibility to impact and change the lives of others.
In the books, the invitations extended to the recipients warn that if the individual fails to respond no later than "precisely at midnight" the invitation will be considered to have been declined and "no further invitations will be extended." In reality, God extends His priceless invitation to give us forgiveness, a new start and a new life repeatedly throughout our lifetimes, but, if we refuse to accept it, there is finally a day for all of us when the invitation is considered declined and no future invitations are available.
In the books, the invitations extended to the recipients warn that if the individual fails to respond no later than "precisely at midnight" the invitation will be considered to have been declined and "no further invitations will be extended." In reality, God extends His priceless invitation to give us forgiveness, a new start and a new life repeatedly throughout our lifetimes, but, if we refuse to accept it, there is finally a day for all of us when the invitation is considered declined and no future invitations are available.
As we start the New Year, I invite each of you to see 2021 as more than an opportunity for a new resolution and as more than a decade promising new vision. This year--and this decade--can be a time for a rescue—a moment for salvation and a new life. Accept God’s invitation to you in 2021. “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Alexandra and Joyce Swann's fourth installment in the Kinsman Series, The Land of the Blind was released November of 2020 For more information, visit their website at http://www.frontier2000.net.
