The Eleventh Day of Advent, 2016

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you  Isaiah 60:1

  

Oh, what a challenge! There are 1ots of days when I do not even want to arise, much less to shine! On those days, I know that I have absolutely forgotten that the glory of the Lord has risen upon [me].

When God has done so much, has given so much, has sustained in all things, how is it possible that I can forget? That lovely little baby is great to remember at Christmas, and I marvel at his unusual birth. However, the real wonder was yet to come.

Before the Lord left to go back to heaven, He promised that He would always be with me, and thus that the glory of the Lord would always be upon me. He promised that He would lead me, that His Holy Spirit would teach me, and that nothing would separate Him from me.

It’s so easy to get so busy getting ready for all the “stuff” that I think is necessary for a good Christmas, that I forget that this little baby who became our risen Savior now lives in my heart. Maybe I don’t need so many candles at Christmas. Maybe what I need is to just let my light so shine before men that they will see . . . and glorify my Father who is in heaven.

Father, please don’t allow me to become so burdened with the world’s view of what Christmas is supposed to be that I miss the Light that is the real Christmas! Amen

And Then It Was Christmas: A Journey Toward Christmas
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, 2006,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator.