“No one is a light unto himself, not even the sun.” - Antonio Porchia,1968
Christmas is a celebration of the Incarnation of God. To demonstrate God’s nature, Christ became a human
being and lived among us. To prove God’s love, He died on the cross for our sins. It was a long way from heaven to earth, but Jesus made the trip willingly for us.“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”(John 1:14 ESV) Christ’s blessing and reality continues to influence believers in every generation.
In order to influence the world, we must practice the ministry of presence—going where the people are, getting on their level,speaking their language. Christ has given us the ultimate example of doing this; and we are challenged to have His mindset (Philippians 2:5-7).
We were not created to shine secretly, but openly—giving clear evidence of being a child of the Light.
We were not created to shine temporarily, but eternally—living beyond ourselves for the glory of God.
We were not created to shine inwardly, but outwardly—testifying to Love in a narcissistic world.
We were not created to shine reflexively, but reflectively—letting God’s light shine through us.
Scholars use "chaos theory" to explain how unpredictable results occur in systems sensitive to initial conditions, hypothesizing that the flutter of a butterfly's wings in Beijing affects weather patterns in New York City. They're closer to the truth than they imagine.If a small event produces dramatic results by triggering increasingly significant events, what difference do you think it would make in the world if we wholeheartedly committed our life to God? We'll never know what earth-shaking repercussions will occur until we try our wings.[paragraph adapted from Day 9, Gentle Whispers from Eternity]
Johnny R. Almond
Pastor, Colonial Beach Baptist Church, Virginia
Author, www.GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized.com
Book available through your local bookseller or preferred on-line retailer.
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