It's Christmas Eve. It's almost time ... The children are in bed. Finally they have gone to sleep. They have given up the battle to stay awake until Santa comes. They have placed the cookies and milk and their note to Santa in the designated place. In just a few hours they will awaken eager to open their gifts. It's Christmas Eve. It's almost time.

It's Christmas Eve. It's almost time ... Now that the children are asleep you can go to the attic, the trunk of the car, under your bed, the storage building in the back yard, and all the other secret hiding places you have used for those things you've been hiding for months. You have bikes to assemble, batteries to install, and wrapping to finish. And, somehow find a power tool that will cut through the hard plastic packaging that encases almost everything you buy without getting so agitated that you disturb the neighbors. The hour is late. You're really tired, but the thrill of seeing their faces when they come down the stairs keeps you going for as long as it takes. It's Christmas Eve. It's almost time.

It's Christmas Eve. It's almost time ... we are anxious and excited and hopeful and ready and nervous and scared and all those other emotions we feel when we anticipate something big is about to happen. Unlike the children, we know what is about to happen. We know the thrill of seeing our children receive the longings of their heart. We know it's Christmas Eve. We know it's almost time.

He knew the right gift.

Do you suppose that God, on the eve before He sent His one and only Son into the world, experienced some of the same emotions or had any of the same thoughts that we have on Christmas Eve. He knew what was about to happen. Will they love my Son? Will they realize how much thought has gone into this? Will they appreciate the sacrifice I am making? Will they have any idea of the value of this gift? What will they do with what I am giving them? Was He experiencing any of these thoughts during those centuries of silence?

Whether God felt those things or not, I do not know, and I do not presume to make Him like me. What I do know is that He knew the right gift. He knew what we needed. He knew that some would accept the Son and love Him, and He knew that some would despise and reject Him. He knew what was ahead. He knew it was about time.

Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light [of life] and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors (Isaiah 53:10-12 NIV).

Lessons from a Sheep Dog: A True Story of Transforming Love by Phillip Keller Allow yourself to see Biblical truth in this classic tale of what can happen when you yield to the Master.

Tom Norvell is the author of "A Norvell Note." He ministers at the Hermitage Church of Christ in Hermitage, Tennessee.

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