Apologetics at Christmas

Luke had the right idea. He saw what Peter had written - that the Apostles had not followed cleverly made-up stories, but that the experiences they had related to their followers were rooted in reality. He had encountered John, who made it clear that the conviction he held was due entirely to the fact that the spiritual truth he described had been irrevocably etched in his mind as a result of spending three years with the Word made flesh.

He worked with Paul. as present when the Apostle reminded his captors that the events he related had not taken place in a corner, but were common knowledge to the entire community and could be easily verified by independent sources.

And so, he went out of his way to track down first-hand witnesses, to carefully document his sources and give a specific timeframe to events.

At Christmas, we are vividly reminded of this as we read of the circumstances of Jesus' birth. We are not dealing with a vague fantasy here, but a documentary of how the supernatural burst into our world to bring about the total transformation of humanity.

The same God who shaped history then is the One who calls to us now in order to break through into our individual lives - to establish His rule in every sphere of our individual universe.