“The dayspring from on high has visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:78-79).
At the Kimball Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, I saw a beautifully carved and decorated Buddha. As I admired its beauty, I breathed a prayer of thanksgiving that my prayers were not directed to a piece of wood or stone, but to a living God able to hear and respond to them.
Jesus came into our world of darkness and despair as a bright light. God sent Him as an infant so that He knew all stages of being human, beginning with total dependency on Mary and Joseph.
We can believe that as a child with a skinned knee, Jesus cried; as a boy winning a foot race, he laughed and cheered; as an adult suffering the death of a friend, he grieved and wept.
The season of Advent is a time of gift-giving. Our Lord gave us the best gift of all--His Son to live among us and teach us. The supreme gift of His: to die a humiliating, public death of pain and suffering to secure our salvation and eternal life with God.
How can we respond to such a gift? Our Scripture passage says that Jesus came to "guide our feet into the way of peace." Then would Jesus not be pleased if we became peacemakers in our families, in our community, and in our world?
Matthew 20:26-28 says that we are to be servants helping to meet the needs of others. So as Christ's followers, we are to be peacemakers and servants. This is the gift Jesus wants from us.
Bill and Mary Lou Reynolds rejoined First Baptist Nashville in 2004, having been active members from 1955 to 1980. Bill sang bass in the Sanctuary Choir and served the church on various committees and as interim music director for an eight-month period. A hymn writer, composer, and music director for many large Baptist meetings, Bill was on the staff of the Church Music Department at the Sunday School Board, the last nine years as director. Mary Lou taught a women’s Sunday School class, was active in WMU, served as the Bible teacher for the Carroll Street ministry, and was on the church library staff, serving several years as librarian. She was employed as a copy editor at Abingdon Press.
The audio version of today's devotional was recorded by Harry Chapman.
