Friday Reading: 1 John 2 15-17

 

Key Verse: 1 John 2 17
17  And the world passes away, and the lust of it, but he who does the will of God abides forever.

 

Devotion:
It is so easy to get carried away with all the new things and the sales and all that glitters at this time of year, forgetting about the real meaning behind Christmas. People will come on TV and tell you it is all about being with families and all the merriment that goes with that; but truth be told, it is all about celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. All the frivolity and commercialisation of Christmas has forced us to forget what it is about.

 

We can argue about what colour clothes father Christmas should have on, we can argue about where the tree came into being... but all those things are things that we have introduced to make a party out of a holiday. The more the shops get hold of the idea, the less Christ is in Christmas. I was heartened to see most places actually writing out Christmas in full this year, but sadly it was for all the wrong reasons. Now is probably the best time to spend your money because of the savings that you can get, but remembering the true meaning of Christmas should have been the focus of our Christmas day this year.

 

As we get closer to the end of the year, we start to make up lists about what we should be doing next year or what we are going to leave behind... Think about the things that you have done this year, think about the things that you could do next year; but most importantly, think about the things that you could be doing with Christ by your side. He came into the world to seek the lost and give us all the gift of Eternal life. That gift was nothing that He bought with money. The gift was not the biggest box under the tree. The gift was not the shiniest under the tree. That gift was a gift from the heart. A true gift. Batteries not required! An everlasting gift!

 

Points to Ponder:
What did you get this year that is already gone?
 
How do you thank Christ for your gift from Him?