“Love the Lord our God with all our mind, soul, and
strength; and to love our neighbor as ourselves” (Luke 10:27).
This Christmas season our phones at the church have been busy with
requests for Christmas assistance, as we can we have been trying to assist
whether it is directly or indirectly. As
we get closer and closer to Christmas day, our avenues to assist those in need
are narrowing as time continues on.
Each time the church phone rings, the thought runs
through my head that it may be somebody needing Christmas assistance. Well, this
week the phone rang and this call changed my mood as well as my spirit.
The man on the other end of the phone line stated that he
was looking for a church to make a cash donation, and would I be in my office.
A few minutes later a man stopped by the office and told me about his recent
baptism and coming into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
The man had recently overcome struggle with addiction and
was feeling God’s call to pay back, in word and in deed. As we talked, the man
placed a $10.00 bill on my desk. With this a true feeling of God’s Christmas
gift came over me.
Beloved, it is not the amount that we give, it is the
fact that we give out of love and in appreciation for what God has done for us.
The gift of our Messiah Jesus Christ is God’s true gift to His creation that
was given out of love.
The true meaning of Christmas giving is as Jesus said: "Jesus
when he summed up the whole law said, Love the Lord your God with all your
heart, your soul and strength and then love your neighbor, even real little
ones.
Beloved, my prayer for you this Christmas is that your
joy in giving of yourselves to others will outweigh the feeling of receiving from others.
When we give of ourselves, we truly remember the sacrificial giving that this
baby would one day take upon himself on the cross for us.
Merry Christmas and Give Until it Joy’s
Pastor Tim.
