A Promise to Keep

     Therefore, imitate God like dearly loved children.Live
      your life with love, following the example of Christ, who
     loved us and gave himself for us. He was a sacrificial
     offering that smelled sweet to God.
                                   (Ephesians 5:1-2 CEB)

It’s virtually impossible to make it through the Christmas season without encountering some adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic novella A Christmas Carol. The story centers on an elderly miser named Ebenezer Scrooge who despises well, most everyone, including the poor and the needy around him. He considers them a drain on society and is totally unwilling to spend any of his hard-earned fortune to help those who are struggling on the fringes of society. Scrooge’s hard heart extends even to his own employee, Bob Cratchit, whom he pays little for long hours of work. Cratchit’s family struggles mightily, just under Scrooge’s nose, but Scrooge has neither the desire nor the insight to notice.

Christmas tales like A Christmas Carol often involve transformation. Just as the character of Scrooge is transformed, we are transformed by the promise of Christmas; and we are called to pass that promise on to others. We are called to extend Jesus’ hope to those who are hungry and hurting. As the church, the body of Christ, we are called to go where Jesus went and to care for people the way Jesus did–to truly be with them and love them. This isn’t an easy task. We are easily spooked. We want clear lines showing right and wrong and how we are to treat people on either side of the line.

But when we take a closer look at how Jesus lived anf ministered, we see that those who fell in love with Jesus were those who were already in the wrong. They were the outcasts, the adulterers, the doubters, the desperate. And what they saw in Jesus was redemption–something they knew all too well they could not gain on their own. Jesus did not preach at people on a street corner; he had dinner in their homes. He did not publicly shame them; he welcomed them with open arms. The life of Jesus demands that we live with a new perspective of those who live around us.

For those of us who believe the promise of Christmas, we know that Jesus is Immanuel, God with us. And we continue Jesus’ mission on earth when we walk alongside others in truth and love so that they see that Jesus is Immanuel, God with them too.

Prayer Focus
Ask the Lord to open your eyes today so that you can really see the people placed in your path. How can you celebrate the promise of Christmas by extending Christ’s love to others this season?

From Rob Renfroe and Ed Robb, The Wonder of Christmas: Devotions for the Season