A Few Days Off

Christmas is a wonderful time, for many reasons.  I don’t need to recite most of those.  For me there is a pleasant surprise this year that I have not noticed in the past.

Like many people, I decided, with my wife’s encouragement, to take the days off between Christmas and New Years and just relax.  I received a couple new books for Christmas.  I dug into one of the two on Boxing Day.  It is interesting, stimulating, and exciting — “The Israel Test” by George Gilder.  No, it is not another Christian book about Israel and their promises from God. It is about politics, economics, history, wealth, poverty, science and technology and the Jewish people.  It is all about the blessings Jews bring to the world through their giftedness, especially in the business world.  Wherever they go, throughout the millenia, they prosper and produce wealth.  This prosperity is intended to bless nations as well.

The author says the “Israel Test” is people and nations’ reactions to the favour and blessings of the Jewish people.  Will they join in and participate in those blessings or will they, like so many, resent and envy their success?  Will they bless them or go to war with them.  Will they bless them or will they try to annihilate them?  This is a great test that peoples and nations have failed.  Although the author does not appeal to scripture, sounds a lot like Genesis 12:3 “I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you, and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”  Perhaps this offers insight into the intractable difficulties between Israel and her avowed enemies, huh?

Oh, I almost forgot, the unexpected blessing this Christmas season.  It is simply to be able to sit and read a book for hours and not have to look at my watch and say to myself, “I must stop this and get onto more important things.”   A real blessing to be free from the clock and “more important things.”

Thank you Lord for a few days off.