You’re Worth LovingThis 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.
Made Like Us
I don’t know about you, but in the course of a lifetime I have received many gifts. Some have been very useful, some barely useful, and some I’m still trying to figure out how to use them.
As we’ve been exploring this “gift” of God, a Savior unto the world, we have learned that this is a gift of LOVE because we are worth loving.
Why would God give us a useless gift? Simple answer: He wouldn’t.
In fact, Jesus is useful to us in more ways than just being the atonement for our sin.
The fact that our Gift from Heaven walked the face of this earth, experienced the same temptations, the same worldly pressures, and the same emotions that we do also qualifies Him as able to understand us better.
Read these words from Hebrews 4:14-16 (ESV).
“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Our Gift wasn’t just a one-time gift! Each day we can practically rely on Jesus to provide mercy upon mercy and grace upon grace. During each trial, each temptation, each difficulty in life we can trust fully in God’s gift of His Son, Jesus Christ.
This truly is a LOVE worth giving to YOU!
Prayer: Jesus, You stepped out of Heaven and into our world of darkness. Your light has helped us open our eyes and let us see Your true beauty. Help us to adore You and declare that You’re altogether lovely, altogether worthy, altogether wonderful to me. Amen.
*Words of the prayer inspired by Passion Conferences song “Here I Am to Worship.”
Devotional
Devotional