Photo Credit: violscraper
Creative Commons

As we all ready ourselves for another Christmas, scripture reminds us to prepare our hearts to receive the baby Jesus. When a child is offered to anyone, they reach forward to hold and embrace the infant and dream of its future. We know the ultimate gift and sacrifice that the Lord has offered to us in His Son. This innocent child who started life in a very lowly and humble place came to serve mankind and not to be served.

The seasons gift giving had it start with the greatest gift, Jesus, and then the wise men, maybe hundreds of them who traveled great distances just to gaze upon the child and offer him very special offerings.

Let us prepare our hearts to follow the model of the godly life and offer to the Lord something treasured in our lives, time.

Time to spend with our loved ones, time to spend with our church family, time to spend with neighbors, co workers and strangers. Wherever we go, bring salt and light into the world, be very deliberate and loving. We all have a limited amount of time, but the Lord has blessed us with exactly the right amount of time to do His will when we set our hearts on following Him and serving others.

When the lawyer asked Jesus which commandment was the greatest, He responded With “Love the Lord you God with all your heart, mind and soul and the second is like it, Love your neighbor as your self. This is the sum of the Law and Profits”. The vertical and horizontal, together they form the cross of the ultimate sacrifice. Lets display the love of Christ this Christmas season with our time, in a way that others notice something very special about us and most importantly when they ask why we are different, we take the opportunity to boldly explain His saving grace by sharing our faith.

May you and your families have a blessed Christmas by blessing others, as scripture says: “to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.” Luke 1:78

~ Bob Roth