Merry Christmas
I have had a lovely day today celebrating the birth of my Savior with my four favorite guys. We are at the beach and we haven’t had a sunny day since last Tuesday. I feel terrible for people who have saved up money to take a vacation in Florida this week. What a bummer!
But the weather has certainly been conducive for much game playing and just hanging out. So that’s a win. And we’ve eaten lots of yummy food. We adore our church and got to have both a morning service and an evening service yesterday. Still, I miss a lovely scene like the one above from my house in Tennessee. I miss the dancing eyes of little ones on Christmas morning, full of joy and anticipation.
Little children are special. Jesus certainly thought so. Not only did he correct His disciples when they assumed He was too busy for them, He also said: "Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." (Luke 18:17). Have you received -- by no merit or effort of your own -- the kingdom of God like a child? I hope so.
A close friend of mine once told me that she thinks of herself as having a simple, childlike faith. She was not paying herself a compliment. In fact, almost the opposite. Her phrasing sounded more like she was in some way criticizing her own lack of profundity. But Oswald Chambers warned against posing as profound people: “God became a Baby." Plus, I told her that her childlike faith is a gift from God that was born out of suffering. In so many words I said, "It's not a matter of being some kind of simpleton. Your faith is a rare blessing sometimes bestowed on those who've known tremendous loss." Do you know an adult who exemplifies childlike faith? I bet the person who jumps to mind hasn't lived the easiest life.
I hope this Advent season has included time for reflecting on the wonder of the miracle of Jesus' birth. How can you continue to make room in your life to better receive the fullness of God's Kingdom? How can you remind yourself that the goal isn't uppity profundity but the trusting faith of a child?
If you want to close out the day with a couple more songs. Here are two of my favorites: https://hymnary.org/text/infant_holy_infant_lowly and https://hymnary.org/text/come_thou_long_expected_jesus_born_to. Beautiful music and lyrics.
Merry Christmas!
P.S. I’m looking for a Bible reading plan for 2024. If you have any recommendations, I’d love to hear them!