Daily Devotion - Tuesday, December 22, 2015

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This is the third week of the season of Advent.  Throughout the season of Advent we'll be focusing on what it means to be full of expectation and anticipation during this blessed time of year.  We'll also be lifting up the various weekly themes of Advent, corresponding to the lighting of the candles on the Advent wreath. This week our theme is "Love."  

 At the beginning of this Advent season I made my annual climb on to the roof of my house to string lights.  And then, (because my wife made that cute little pouty face that she makes when she wants something) I strung lights pretty much every where else, too.  

 I'm fairly certain that all told there's several thousand lights in and around my house and Christmas tree.  It was a Herculean task.  And there were times (like the one where I almost slid off the roof, or when I encountered all of the thorns on the palm tree) when I wondered why I was doing so much.  

 Then I turned on the lights, and saw the faces of my wife and my two little boys (even my all-grown-up 20 year-old gave me a grin).  I knew in that instant the reason why I had done so much to make our house so festive:  Love.  

 Sometimes you go to great pains to create beauty or moments of joy because you want your beloved ones to know just how much you love them.  And when you see their faces when they encounter that beauty---there's nothing like that feeling, brothers and sisters. 

 We learn so much about God from these kinds of feelings--what I like to think are memories of the Divine imprinted into our DNA.  

 You see, Christians celebrate this time of year the Great Love Story of how God is saving the world.  We believe that God took on human form in the person of Jesus Christ, who we hail as the Messiah, the Savior, the Eternal creative Word of God in the flesh.  

 Through Jesus God shows us just how far he is willing to go to show His great love for us. Through Jesus, God reveals His true intentions, His true heart for all of Creation.  Through Jesus, God shows God's love for the world--that he would send his Son so that all who embrace him would have eternal life, both now and forever.  

 May you be filled with the expansive, beautiful, creative Word of God on this day and every day.  May you realize in the very depths of your soul just how much God loves you and has always loved you.  May you live every single day covered in the warmth and beauty of God's great love.  

 And may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always.  Amen.  



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