Thos ea December 22
Lovels...
HOW-TO
Key Text: Rev. 17:14
Edwin Markham wrote a poem entitled “How the Great Guest Came,” which
tells the story of a cobbler named Conrad. Conrad was known in his village as a
righteous and kindhearted man. One night, Conrad dreamed that Jesus Christ was
going to visit him the very next day. The dream was so vivid that Conrad prepared
forthe visit of the Great Guest. He decorated his shop and bought the most delicious
foods he could buy in the market. It would be the greatest day in Conrad’s life!
At noontime Conrad saw an old beggar, whose feet were bruised and bloody
because his shoes were already worn out. Being a compassionate person, Conrad
gave the beggar a pair of shoes. A little while later, an old woman came by, tired
and hungry. Conrad fed the hungry stranger and gave her a loaf of bread to take
home. At dusk, a little boy came to his door, lost and afraid. Conrad took the cry-
ing child in his arms and gave him milk to drink. He asked the boy where he lived
He decorated his shop and bought the most
delicious foods he could buy.
and took him home to the anxious mother. It was dark when Conrad got home.
Suddenly, he felt sad that the Great Guest had not come. The poem continues:
Why is it, Lord, that your feet delay?
Did you forget that this was the day?”
Then, soft in the silence a voice was heard:
“Lift up your heart, for I kept My word.
Three times I came to your friendly door,
Three times My shadow was on your floor;
I was the beggar with bruised feet;
I was the woman you gave to eat;
I was the child of the homeless street.”
What could be a better expression of the true meaning of Christmas? For the
“chosen and faithful followers of the Lamb,” love is not just a pious and sentimental
feeling. It is a way of life. What is love to you?
“If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge,
and if | have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. . . .
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love”
(1 Cor. 13:2, 13, NIV).
REACT
1. What are the dangers we face in waiting for Jesus’ second coming?
2. How can I personally know that I am ready for the second coming?
By Vichuda Lousuebsakul, a graduate student in epidemiology at the School of Public
Health, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California.
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