“But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.”
–John 10:2-3
For years I had hung five Christmas stockings along the fireplace mantel. On the large red stocking, that was for my parents, I had carefully knitted “WAYNE” on one side of the cuff, and “AGNES” on the other. Next to it were hanging two small red felt stockings; one said “KAREN” (me) and the other, “JOHN”, my husband. The two large red felt stockings with white cuffs were for our sons. One was marked “BRENT” and the other, “ERIK”.
Then came the Christmas that Brent would bring home his new fiancé. She was from Japan and this would be her first Christmas. We were thrilled, but how could we make our house guest feel, not only welcome, but like a cherished member of the family?
I glanced at the fireplace where the stockings were already hung. Yes! I grabbed my yarn and knitting needles. I finished her stocking the morning of her arrival and hung it next to Brent’s. “CHIE”, it said. I prayed that she would understand the implied message.
I need not have worried; God had even more to say. As Chie was slipping off her coat, she was already gaping at the living room, which was practically groaning from the weight of all of the Christmas decorations. “Oh,” she said. “It looks like Christmas….” and as she rushed to the fireplace to touch her stocking, she continued…”And it has my name on it!” Chie’s joy in what seemed obvious, our names on our Christmas stockings, revealed the bigger truth. I looked again at the row of names on the stockings hanging on the mantel. God made Christmas so personal that He knitted the name of each of His children into the very fabric of Christmas.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for reminding me that John 3:16, “For God so loved the WORLD….,” means each one of us and that you call us by our names.