At Christmas - God's Gifts Of Life And Love

"Today's Devotion" For December 2, 2005

Read: I John 4:7-21; John 17:1-5; 20-26

AT CHRISTMAS - GOD'S GIFTS OF LIFE AND LOVE

"...I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." (John 10:10)

On Tuesday afternoon a terrible, tragic duplex fire occurred in Milwaukee. Two small children, a little three year old boy and his two year old sister died in the fire. They had probably been playing with matches. Although the police and firefighters were on the scene within just a couple of minutes of the fire being called in, and although neighbors were fighting mightily to break down the locked back door to get in, no one was able to save these two little ones' lives. Sadly, there was no warning because none of the six fire detectors had working batteries in them.

The mother and father of these little ones, along with their families and friends are, as we can all understand, devastated and hurting. Young lives such as these are never expected to die so soon, nor so tragically, at least according to human standards. With the celebration of Christmas so close, the pain of their horribly tragic deaths (and all death is a tragedy since God never intended for anyone to die) will be felt even more acutely by their parents. Given our society's indulgence and excess, especially during the Christmas season, it's a good bet that the children's mother and father may have already purchased gifts for under the tree, and, since the house wasn't destroyed by the fire, those gifts may very be further reminders of the family's loss. If only someone, perhaps the landlord, had bothered to spend a few dollars on necessities called batteries to keep the smoke alarms armed and ready to protect life.

At the same time, such tragic losses of life occur everyday someplace in the nation or the world. Death is a very real companion to every human being because of our sinfulness. In the face of such a reality, God's Christmas gift, the sending of His Son, Jesus Christ, to live among us and bring the Father's love and mercy "in the flesh" to humanity, gives hope and peace in the midst of great despair. In spite of our sinfulness, our Father in heaven determined that He would redeem us and bring us back to life with Him. He sent Jesus to bring us into a living relationship with God, filled with His love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness in Christ.

Celebrating Jesus' birthday is a gift from God. By the urging of His Spirit, the Body of Christ has been moved over the centuries to give the world a better thing to celebrate at this time of year than the "winter solstice" and a plethora of gods of our own making. Because of His great love for us, God sent Jesus into the world to bring light into the darkness of sin and despair, so that every human being might receive the gifts of life in Him and His abiding love. As God's dearly beloved children in Jesus Christ, we have the great honor and privilege of sharing that gift of life and love with others.

God presents us with many opportunities to share His Christmas gifts of life and love, not only with each other in the Body of Christ (as John so eloquently encourages in I John 4), but also with the world around us so that all might come to the fullness of life in Christ and the power of His love in their lives. God's Christmas gifts of life and love are a source of hope and comfort to those who are experiencing such tragedies as the parents who lost their children in that fire on Tuesday. These same gifts are the source of hope and peace for us as we face the world's derision and denial of God. It's the very gifts of God, life in Christ because of His great love for us that help us focus on the true meaning of Christmas - redemption and eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Prayer: Father, I saddened by the horrible manner in which those two precious little children died. My hope is that they were your little ones and are now enjoying eternity with You in heaven. It's so very easy, Father, to lose track of what's important in my life, especially when it comes to my relationship with You. It's so very easy to get caught up in the materialism that seems to be taking over the world, even more so at Christmas, and forget that the greatest gift is to share life in You and Your love with others. Too often I forget that the little acts of love, such as batteries in smoke detectors that might have provided safety for those children, are much more loving than acts that indulge the sinful nature. As the Christmas celebration of Jesus' birth comes closer and closer this year, help me, gracious Father, to keep my focus on the true gifts of Christmas - Your gifts of life and love in Jesus. Let my life and attitude reflect these gifts to others so they, too, might focus their attention on Jesus; in Whose precious and most holy name I pray. Amen.
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--Pastor Boeck

Copyright ©2005 Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.