Read 1 John 3:16-18
The invitation to write this devotion came while I was in a meeting as Lamar Garer of New Orleans was presenting his study titled On Thriving and Love. He discussed the daunting statistics and profound challenges involved in bringing families out of poverty in his city. After reviewing Milwaukee’s similar statistics, Lamar presented a simple slide that caught me by surprise. It read:
“When you approach an issue with love, solutions don’t seem impossible because the sacrifice is worth it.”
My mind’s eye immediately went to Paul in Ephesus, reviewing the statistics he received from Jerusalem. The numbers were beyond daunting; issues magnified by a severe famine. The Christians living there were an oppressed minority planted in an obscure Roman province. Someone offered the idea that the relatively better-off churches in Turkey could gather funds to send to their impoverished siblings. It would involve significant personal sacrifice but they knew the provision, given in love, would make the sacrifice worth it.
Upon further reflection, I thought of what a meeting of the Council of the Holy Ones in heaven (Psalm 89:7) might be like. The world was in a desperate, fallen state. Then the Godhead announced the solution: Jesus would enter the world as a helpless infant, live among the poor and marginalized, then lay down His life for all of humanity.
This was a sacrifice of unparalleled, infinite cost. Jesus decided that the entire ordeal, including His abandonment and the agony of the Cross—an overwhelming sacrifice of love—would be worth it for the redemption of humanity.
Merry Christmas! And in this season of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love, may you awaken again to the love of God abiding in you.
For Reflection:
- Many of us will soon be gathering with families and friends to celebrate Christmas. There will be gifts and a great abundance of food. As you gather together, would you find time to hold a meeting, or rather have a conversation, to discuss the needs you have noticed among those living in your community or maybe elsewhere?
- Together, commit to making a sacrificial gift of time, talent, or treasure to those whose needs you have discovered. How can those in your gathering open your hearts in compassion to meet some of those needs? Given in Christ’s love, your sacrifice will be worth it.
* Place the Baby Jesus figure in the stable. In the middle of the night, in this little barn, Jesus was born! “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son . . .” (John 3:16).
by Tim Tesch
Family Talk: Christmas Eve
Read the story of Jesus’ birth from a children’s Story Bible or read Luke 2:1-20
Imagine a dark night, lit only by stars blinking through windows and maybe an oil lamp or two. Imagine dusty, scratchy straw poking through your clothes. Feel the chill in the air. Every now and again, feel a waft of warm animal breath floating across the air. Smell the clean hay mixed with the icky smell of animal . . . well, you know!
Is this where a baby King should be born?
Jesus could have been born into a palace–a spacious, well-lit room with cozy rugs and a brand-new crib. That’s what God’s people were expecting when they were waiting for the promised Savior to be born.
But, almost always, Jesus did the unexpected! He did not live in a palace and shout orders at everyone. He did not wear expensive clothes or have the latest gadgets. Instead, He lived among friends and served people—even people very different from Himself!
This is why God’s people were so confused. They expected a super-important, powerful king who would free them from Roman rule. Instead, God told His people, through the prophet Isaiah, that Jesus would be a gentle servant, but a strong servant who would win in the end:
“He will not break a bent twig.
He will not put out a dimly burning flame.
He will make right win over wrong.
The nations will put their hope in him.” (Matthew 12:20-21, NIrV)
How does Jesus win? By dying on the Cross to pay for sin, and then rising again! He has crushed sin and death, so that one day, all the wrongs can be made right. Everyone who trusts Jesus can share in this victory! That’s why everyone around the world can put their hope in Him.
When you look at the manger tonight, remember Jesus, the baby born in a most unexpected way, but the only one who can truly be called “King of the Nations”!
FAmily Storytelling:
- Parents: What do you think Mary and Joseph might have been thinking as they gazed at the newborn Baby Jesus? What went through your mind the first time you held your child?
- Kids: Wonder aloud: What were the shepherds feeling when they saw angels in the sky? What do you think they told their friends after they had seen Baby Jesus?