December 25
Read: John 14:27
Thoughts for Parents:
We’ve counted the days. We’ve lit the candles. And now we’re ready to celebrate. We’re celebrating family and friends and one another with gifts and lights. It’s Christmas Day! He’s finally arrived! And with Him He’s brought us hope, love, joy, and peace. The day is finally here and He brings us a word of comfort:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
Today you’re probably going to spend some time in giving and receiving. Our family all joins together and we’re going to give gifts and eat together and rejoice. And as wonderful as we anticipate this day will be, it will still be “as the world gives.”
How does the world give? The world gives in response to what it has been given. It’s the principle of karma: what goes around comes around. The world gives better gifts to those who have the ability to repay in kind; the world gives the best gifts to those who deserve them. But Jesus’ gift of peace isn’t like that. Jesus’ gift of peace isn’t in response to our deserving. No, in fact, He gives peace to those who deserve judgment. He gives the gift of well-being, blessedness, peace, shalom, out of the boundless sea of His grace.
In addition, His gift of peace will never fade away. We may; indeed, get the gift we’re hoping for … but let’s face it, after a time that gift will fade away. It will either fade away because it’s last year’s cell phone and it’s lost its cutting edge or it will fade away because our fickle hearts will have moved on to something else all too soon. But the gift that our Savior gives, the gift of peace with Him will never fade. In other words, we’ll never wear out our welcome at His Father’s throne and hearing this great story will never get old. We are at peace with Him.
So … Merry Christmas! Love and enjoy this day and all that it means. St the end of the day, when you see that perhaps you could have done something better, remember that He’s completely satisfied and at peace with you.
Thoughts for Children:
IT IS CHRISTMAS DAY! We can shout, “Merry Christmas!” all day long. Today is the day that our sweet Savior, Jesus Christ, was born. Today is the day that He started His life here on earth, the day that He was sent to make peace between us and God, the day that He started breathing in order for us to be sure that God loves us forever, the day that He blinked His eyes for the first time so that we could have happiness and joy forever, the day that He cried His first cry so that we could know we will always have hope.
Today is the day that we can celebrate what Christmas is really all about: Jesus. Christmas is about Him, and—let me tell you a little secret—every day of every year is about Him, too. It is about the truth that He will never ever leave us … no matter what. He gives us peace, He gives us joy, He gives us hope, and He gives us His love forever. So, enjoy your day, have fun, laugh, eat, be happy, and celebrate Jesus!
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