"TAKE HOLD OF LOVE!"

Written and preached by David P. Nolte

EPHESIANS 2:1-18

Henry Carter, a preacher, was working feverishly on his Christmas sermon when the floor mother of the church's home for emotionally disturbed children appeared at the study door. There was a crisis upstairs. It was Christmas eve and though many of the children got to go home, at least overnight, those children who remained reacted negatively to the empty beds and the changed routine. Henry followed the woman up the stairs, chafing inwardly at the repeated interruptions. This time it was a little eight year old fellow named Tommy. He had crawled under a bed and refused to come out. He wanted to separate himself from his surroundings and from the loneliness of Christmas Eve at the home. The account of Henry Carter and Tommy becomes the source of four lessons we all ought to remember all year, but especially as the time to celebrate Christ's Advent draws near. The story illustrates what Paul seems to be saying in Ephesians 2:1-18. What is the first lesson?  As Teddy was separated by his action, so:

  1. MANKIND IS SEPARATED FROM GOD BY SIN: VV1-3, 12:
    1. Death is, essentially, separation. In its spiritual sense, it is to be detached, disconnected, and disengaged from God Himself.
    2. When Adam and Eve disobeyed in the Garden, their fellowship with God was broken; a separation came between them and death entered the human experience. Isaiah describes the state of mankind saying, "But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear." Isaiah 59:2.
    3. Sin separates us from God because
      1. Sin is disgusting to God: "Evil plans are an abomination to the Lord, But pleasant words are pure." Proverbs 15:26.
      2. Sin is discrepant to the very Holiness and Nature of God: "Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. ..." Habakkuk 1:13.
      3. Sin disinclines us to draw near to God: "He who walks in his uprightness fears the Lord, But he who is crooked in his ways despises Him." Proverbs 14:2.
      4. Sin disqualifies us to live in His presence: "Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous." Psalms 1:5.
      5. Sin destroys our character and innocence."  10 as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; 11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; 12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."  Romans 3:10-12.
    4. So because of God's attitude toward sin, and because of the despicable character of sin, and because of the godless effect sin has on man, a separation is the inevitable and universal, though not irrevocable, consequence.
Well, Tommy had separated himself by hiding beneath the bed. Not so much as a hair or a toe showed from beneath, so Henry spoke to the boy gently. He talked about the brightly lighted tree in the church foyer next door and the packages underneath it and all the other good things waiting for Tommy out beyond that bed. No answer. Still fretting at the time this was costing, Henry dropped to his hands and knees and lifted the spread. Two enormous, sad blue eyes met his. Henry had reached out to that unhappy little boy in much the same fashion as God has reached out to mankind. And herein lies the second lesson.  As Henry took the initiative to call Teddy out, so:
  1. GOD TOOK THE INITIATIVE TO SAVE US: VV8, 9:
    1. It was grace that did it -- nothing we had done; no appeal of ours; no obligation owed to us; no Angelic Emissary entreated God on our behalf.
    2. God took the initiative. In that regard, hear this:
      1. To the early disciples Jesus said, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you." John 15:16.
      2. Paul wrote the Corinthians reminding them that " ... God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, ... ." 2 Corinthians 5:19.
      3. In the first chapter of Ephesians, Paul notes the eternal purpose of God: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him." Ephesians 1:3, 4.
      4. To the Thessalonians Paul wrote, "But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth." 2 Thessalonians 2:13.
      5. John said, "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."  1 John 4:10.
    3. So it was God's initiative, His plan, His activity for "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." Titus 3:5-7.
    4. The chorus says, "You did not wait for me to draw near to you, but you clothed yourself in frail humanity; you did not wait for me to cry out to you, but you let me hear your voice calling me." God took the initiative.
Tommy was determined not to come out from under that bed. It would have been no effort at all simply to pull him out. But it wasn't pulling Tommy needed; it was trust and a sense of deciding things on his own initiative. So, crouched there on all fours, Henry launched into the menu of the special Christmas Eve supper to be offered after the service. He told him about the stocking with his name on it provided by the women's society. Silence. There was no indication that he either heard or cared about Christmas. But in spite of Tommy's stubborn refusal to listen or answer, Henry continued his wooing. How like our Heavenly Father in His infinite patience toward us! Here is the third lesson:
  1. GOD HAS PATIENTLY SHOWN KINDNESS TO US: V7:
    1. Think about what Paul has said:
      1. "Surpassing" means to throw beyond the usual mark; to excel; to exceed the ordinary.  It is like a shot-putter throwing the shot put farther than anyone ever has and establishing a new world record.
      2. The word for "riches" is the root of our word "plutocrat" and means: abundance, fulness, plenty.
    2. Taken together they mean that God has gone far beyond the expected in giving us more than abundant kindness. He has not reacted to us in a manner we might expect; He has not treated us as others might have treated us; He has given us an excessive degree of grace and kindness.
    3. Writing to Timothy Paul described this activity in these words: "It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. And yet for this reason I found mercy, in order that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience, as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life." 1 Timothy 1:15, 16.
    4. His patience and kindness are not to be confused with toleration of sin. His goodness is not to be misconstrued as compromise of determination to eradicate sin. But it ought to encourage us greatly that He desires to have us "come out from under the bed" to His salvation.
The little fellow was unwilling to emerge from the hiding place under the bed. So, at last, because Henry could think of no other way to make contact, he got down on his stomach and wriggled in beside Tommy. For what seemed a long time he lay there with his cheek pressed against the floor. At first he talked about the big wreath above the altar and the candles in the windows. He reminded him of the carol he and the other children were going to sing. Then Henry ran out of things to say and simply waited there beside Tommy. If Tommy wouldn't come out, Henry would go to be next to him. That's lesson four.  As Henry drew near to Teddy, so:
  1. GOD CAME NEAR TO US IN JESUS CHRIST: VV17, 18:
    1. He came to preach peace
      1. between man and man.  In the text, between Jew and Gentile.  But in general between husbands and wives, siblings, parents and children, and all others in conflict.
      2. between man and God.  We have peace with God through faith in Jesus Christ because He came near to us.
    2. Isaiah said, and Matthew records it, "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which translated means, God with us." Matthew 1:23. He came near to us as one of us in Christ.
    3. God has historically promised His presence with His own:
      1. To Moses He said, "My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest." Exodus 33:14.
      2. To Joshua He spoke, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9.
      3. To the church he said, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you," Hebrews 13:5.
    4. When Zechariah prophesied, he said that God has "visited" us in Christ. The word for "visit" means to go to someone to look out for them or to relieve them. So has God come to us in Jesus Christ.
Henry went under that bed to get Tommy to come out, and as he lay under there waiting, a small, chilled hand crept into his. "You know, Tommy," Henry said after a bit, "It's kind of close quarters under here. Let's you and me go out where we can stand up." And so they did, but slowly, in no hurry. All the pressures had gone from Henry's day, because, you see, he had his Christmas sermon. Flattened there on the floor he realized he had been given a new glimpse of the mystery of this season. Hadn't God called us, too, as he'd called Tommy, from far above us? Hadn't He pleaded with us to love Him? And when we would not listen, had He not drawn close to us? Through prophets He called. But it was not until that first Christmas, when God Himself stooped to earth in Jesus Christ, it was not until He came to dwell with us in our loneliness and alienation, that we, like Tommy, dared to stretch out our hands to take hold of love. Jesus said that He came to seek and to save the lost. James says that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. Gloria Gaither wrote, "His love still is longing, His love still is reaching, right past the shackles of my mind. And the Word of the Father became Mary's little Son. And His love reached all the way to where I was." The Bible teaches throughout that if we reach out our small, chilled hand, He will clasp it in His mighty yet gentle hand and we will learn what it is to take hold of love.
Adapted from Henry Carter, "Take Hold Of Love" in Christmas Stories For The Heart, Alice Gray, Multnomah Books, Sisters, Oregon.

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