For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
- Romans 10:13
In December, our coffee table is decorated with two crucial things to celebrate the season. The first is our Advent wreath, with its candles commemorating hope, peace, joy, and love, and the white Christ candle in the center holding it all together. The second item is a Fisher Price nativity scene: a plastic stable and accompanying toy figurines of Mary, Joseph, shepherds, wise men, angel, animals, and, of course, the baby Jesus asleep in his manger bed. The kids play with this nativity scene throughout the month leading up to Advent, and our 2-year-old son Isaac especially has taken an interest in it this year.
So we shouldn’t have been surprised by what we saw one morning in the attached photo: not only the biblical nativity characters, but a few guests as well: a racecar, a pink dinosaur, and a small army of rubber ducks, all gathered around the Christ child. O come let us adore him, indeed!
This silly sight made me think of a spiritual truth worthy of thanksgiving: all are welcome in God’s family. God so loved the world that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life—whosoever believeth, John 3:16 says. The kingdom of God is not closed off to any category of people, no matter where they come from or how little is in their bank account. All you must do to be saved is accept the gift of grace God has given us in Christ.
The good news of Jesus Christ is good news for all people, not just a subset of humanity. Shepherds in Bethlehem and wise men from the East alike came to worship the Christ child, and heaven and nature sang in unison. Jesus turns no one away who answers his call in faith.
I don’t know if a racecar or a rubber duckie belongs at the Savior’s side—but I know you do.
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