December 15th

In the movie It’s a Wonderful Life, little Zuzu said, “Teacher says, ‘Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.” While that’s merely a Hollywood line void of any real truth, culture has long perceived the ringing of bells to be an indicator that something important is about to happen. 

Sometimes it means an important guest is arriving. Sometimes it means a baby is born. It could even mean that we are in the presence of royalty. 

All of that was true at the first Christmas.

When something important was about to happen, God’s way of ringing a bell was to send an angel. In the Christmas story, we have plenty of that. At least four times, God sent an angel to announce something important was about to happen.

To Mary, the angel announced that the Holy Spirit would place within her the Son of God. 
To Joseph, the angel announced he would be the earthly father of Jesus.
To the shepherds, the angel announced that the King had been born.

There is nothing spiritual about a bell. But what if, this Christmas, we allowed the sound of the bells to truly mean something? To help us keep our minds on Jesus. 

Consider this. 

Every time you hear a bell ring, whether it is in a song, in a store, in a movie, or at a party, make a commitment to thank God for coming to you. Whether you whisper it, or speak it so that others hear, every time you hear a bell ring say, “Thank you God for coming to me.”

When we were unable to go to Him, He came to us. Let the bells ring!