Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Tuesday, December 12
By Verna Mclain
What Gifts Can We Bring?
Read: 1 Corinthians 13:13
So now faith, hope and love abide, but the greatest of these is love.
Christmas is a time of gift giving. We spend time, energy and money to buy that special gift for special people. Since Christmas is Jesus’s birthday, what gifts can we bring to celebrate the birthday of the Christ child?
- LOVE: The first commandment is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. And the second is to love our neighbor as yourself. This is the greatest gift we have been given and can give to others.
- GRATITUDE: Thanksgiving for life itself, for family and friends, for all the good things that God has given us. A grateful heart comes rejoicing and remembering.
- JOY: We come singing, ”Joy to the World the Lord has come. Let every heart prepare him room.”
- AN OPEN HEART: With this gift comes an openness to life; a willingness to love and serve others; to learn and grow; to go from where we are to where there is a need.
- KINDNESS: “If you cannot be anything else, you can be kind.” This gift could change someone’s life.
- PEACE: Calm within and with others and the world.
- HOPE: Absence of fear and the reassurance that we will never be forsaken.
This Advent can be a new beginning for each of us. As we leave our gifts for Christ, we can turn down new paths. We can greet all of our fellow travelers who are celebrating the birthday of the Christ child with Love, Gratitude, Joy, an Open Heart, Kindness, Peace and Hope.
Prayer
May the love of Christ be with you now and forever more. Amen.
