Christmas Day a S. Asian family came to eat dinner, hear the account from Matthew and Luke of Jesus’ birth, and learn to sing together “Joy to the World, the Lord is Come.” One teenage girl said rapturously, “This is my first time to be invited to a Christmas party. I hope I get invited again next year!” At the end of the Christmas story they tried to articulate our differences. “You say Jesus is the Son of God, but we say He’s a prophet. And we believe Mohammed came afterwards and was the next prophet. Each of us tries to follow the teachings of our prophet and teach others to do so, too.” How to respond? We said, “There is something unique about Jesus that this account of His birth tells us. He was to be called Jesus because He would save His people from their sins. He was the Saviour, Christ, the Lord. When Elizabeth heard Mary coming to her she asked how it could be that the mother of her Lord would come visit her?” They listened, pondered, did not argue. We heard from a friend that later, after the dishes were washed and the cookies distributed and goodbye kisses given, they sang Joy to the World as they drove home. Please keep praying for the salvation of the entire family. Although no men came to the party, the extended family have invited us to come to their home for a New Year’s Eve party. The men will definitely be there, and perhaps our men will be able to make friends with them.
