'this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world.' Matthew

Many church goers believe that only Christians make it to heaven. One of the reasons Ive always felt this to be unjust is that I question whether all non-Christians have been given the opportunity to hear the message of the life of Jesus. You can't punish someone for not believing in something they have never heard about. How's it possible then in today's world that every human being is given the opportunity to receive the ' good news' of the gospels? I don’t believe God ever uses coercion but he makes the truth plain for all to see in many different ways.

I've just spent the last few months in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia is a Muslim state yet already weeks ahead of Christmas the shopping malls are already fully decorated for the holidays. Christmas carols are piped through the stores as in keeping with virtually the entire world the count down in Malaysia for Christmas begins.And not just in the stores radio, TV ,social media the relentless drumbeat of Christmas echoes unabated. I don't believe for one second there isn't a single person in Malaysia who hasn't stopped to think or ask ' what is Christmas ? Why does the whole world stop to celebrate this day.

Of course the secular worlds reply is ' everyone loves a holiday regardless of its meaning'. Really ? there are plenty of other holidays but the power of Christmas transcends them all. Just as there is something otherworldly about the birth of God in a stable there is some thing very unique and strange about Christmas . How ironic even to the point of being oxymoronic that our obsession with consumerism , in many ways the antithesis of spirituality, is the mechanism used to fuel the fire' I have set before thee an open door and no one can shut it' Revelations.

God in all his works seems to turn the expected upside down .God is born a simple child in a manger surrounded by farm animals, he is not a prince but a carpenter , he rides a donkey , he dies derided as a common criminal . Everything that should guarantee Christianity’s extinction yet try as we might it will not be erased.

Christmas is the open door the message from God from which mankind cannot hide.