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.
Needing a Sign
Where are we going? How do we get there? What is at our destination?
These are all good questions to ask before taking adventuring on any journey. These are also good questions to remind ourselves often during our Advent preparations.
Thankfully we have signs that point us towards the answers.
Signs are important. Just ask any marketing expert and they’ll share with you the many reasons why proper signage can make, or break, a business.
Catchy signs often catch the eye of a passerby, often provide slogans that are easily remembered down the road, and help point consumers to a product or destination.
God understands the importance of signs as well.
In the Old Testament passage of Isaiah, God promises His people of a sign (just one of many) that will lead them to their promised destination. It was a sign to God’s people that the Christ-Child to be born would truly be the promised Messiah, and not just some normal child.
“Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:13-14)
The signs of Advent remind us that we are moving closer to Christmas. This sign lead us to recognizing once again that the Child to be born on Christmas Day was the very One that God promised.
The sign reminds us that this Child could only be the Messiah if born to a virgin. If your “savior” has been born via any other means then there is no way that he/she/it is the Promised Gift of God.
This sign reminds us of our destination – not just Christmas Day during our Advent journey, but also to our eternal destination as we belong to God’s kingdom.
Like I mentioned earlier, God understands the importance of signs. He loves us so much that He wanted us to know for sure that the gift He was sending for YOU this Christmas was the ONLY gift you’ll ever need. That’s a LOVE worth giving to YOU at Christmas.
Prayer: The signs are everywhere, God. You have placed them in Your Holy Word, we see them in our surrounding scenes of nature, we are reminded of them in the decorations of Christmas. Help us to not miss the signs, lest we get lost in the commercialization of Christmas. Amen.