You’re Worth Loving
This year St. Peter’s UCC in Grant Park is providing the book A Love Worth Giving to You at Christmas by Max Lucado for our members to distribute to their families, friends, and neighbors as a small gift. Each book includes an invitation to worship with our church family on Christmas Eve.
Throughout Advent we are reminding everyone that they are worth loving! Lucado writes, “(Jesus) went from commanding angels to sleeping in straw. From holding stars to clutching Mary’s finger. The palm that held the universe took the nail of a soldier. Why? Because that’s what love does.”
Each day, during Advent, join us for a journey to see just how much God’s love for you is evidenced in the story of Christmas.
The Poor Have Become Rich
You’ve heard, or read, stories of people who won large sums of money in the lottery only to squander it and lose it all.
But how many times have you heard of someone who won the lottery and gave it all away?
47-year old Peter Charleton won nearly $1 million in the Australian TattsLotto. Like most middle-aged people, Charleton could have easily used his winnings to buy a bigger home, some expensive automobiles, enjoy luxurious vacations, or build toward a quicker and more secure retirement.
However, as Charleton reflected on his life, one that got him in trouble with the law in his early 20’s, he realized that he’d be happier helping others. He decided he was going to give it all away.
Charleton first helped his immediate family and extended family, but even after helping them he still had a lot of money remaining.
He decided to read through facebook posts of random people. When he saw a story of someone struggling he’d reach out to them and ask them for their bank account so that he can help them by making a donation.
Some were not trusting, even skeptical, knowing about scams which circulate social media. He even found that some of his own relatives were skeptical at first and would message his mom, asking her if his facebook page had been hacked.
Charleton would give towards needs he saw online, would randomly pay for people’s groceries and food at restaurants and more, until his winnings were all gone.
Why? He wanted to show compassion and kindness. He didn’t want his past failures and mistakes to define him, rather, he wanted to help others and let kindness and compassion define who he had become in life.
Our Savior, Jesus Christ, is like this.
Knowing our past, knowing that our sin separated us from eternal life with God, He gave up everything for our sake. He gave up the things of this world. He could have had it all – kingdoms, fortune, and fame.
Yet, for our sake, because He loves us so much, He became poor. He paid our sin debt so that we may have the glorious riches that are in His Kingdom of Heaven.
The apostle Paul wrote, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9, ESV).
This was a gift from God, a gift of LOVE, a LOVE worth giving to YOU at Christmas.
Prayer: Gracious Loving Savior, thank you for Your gift of love. Thank You that we do not owe you anything but our gratitude. We know that we could never save ourselves and nothing we could have ever paid could free us from the debt of sin. Therefore, we accept Your gift of love. Amen.
Devotional
Devotional