Christmas Dedication

In my last article, “Living a Life Worthy of The Lord” on December 11, I quoted Sylvia Penny saying, “To live a life worthy of the Lord we need, first and foremost, to be obedient to His will in our lives.” In a nutshell this requires us to show evidence of our faith in the form of good works.

Jesus during his earthly ministry has set the ultimate example for Christian living. The Apostle Paul (Phil.1:21) also said, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Such teachings all point to an ultimate gain and reward in heaven for those who live their lives worthy of the Lord. Today is Christmas. What would you do to celebrate our Lord’s earthly birth? Joanne reminded us last Sunday (December 18) by pointing out that Christmas is the best time to rededicate our life to Him and to tell others about our Savior. She also challenged us to put Jesus back to the center of Christmas.

In the liturgical tradition of the church such as the Lutherans, “Advent” is a holy season commemorating the first coming of Christ as Saviour and a reminder of His second coming as Judge. It is the beginning of the Christian year and covers the period from the Sunday nearest to the 30th of November until Christmas. From the 6th century the season was kept as a period of fasting and penitence. It may seem a bit dissonant when the celebration of Jesus’ birth is mixed with penitence. However, The Bible (Ps. 51:17) reminds us that the sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit and God will not despise a broken and contrite heart. Indeed, a life without bitterness is very unusual and probably futile. As for both food and life, bitterness is one of the basic flavors to make up a remarkable and lasting recipe. Without question, the birth of Jesus is destined with his crucifixion without which our salvation would have missed a firm and eternal ground. So, brothers and sisters, let’s encourage one another to do and fulfill the will of God by a heartfelt commitment of our deeds to Christ.