Daily Devotional For Friday, December 6, 2024
Our word for today is GLORY. I read of an interesting Christmas tradition one family started when their children were young. His family started a Christmas Eve tradition in their neighborhood about years ago. On Christmas Eve morning, his family hands out modeling clay to all the kids in the neighborhood and asks them to make the characters in the Christmas story. One kid made Mary, another made Joseph. Some kids made sheep and donkeys and camels, others made shepherds and wise men and angels. Somebody made the star. And of course, there is Jesus as a baby.
Then at 6:00 PM, all the neighbors gather in their front yard for the reading of the Christmas story. They set up a table with a small manger scene on it. Then, as their characters arrive in the story, the kids place their creations in the manger scene. Some of these pieces are masterful works of art; perfect little figurines that would make Michelangelo jealous. Others . . . well, let’s just say they look more like a Picasso with both eyes on the same side of their heads.
The whole thing takes about ten minutes, but when they’re finished, they have a beautiful, and sometimes humorous, handmade nativity. It’s their favorite part of Christmas. He writes that now so many people show up for it that he joked last year that they may need to add a second service.
But to him, the crowning moment is when we reach the part where the Bible says in Luke 2:9, “The glory of the Lord shone round about them” (NIV). When he reads that line each year, his wife, Lynnda, lights a candle on the top of the stable, and the whole scene is bathed in candlelight. And that light reflects off the faces of all the little kids who are standing around the table. It truly is the glory of the Lord.
I like to think of that candle as being like you and me. In fact, Jesus referred to us as candles when he said this in Matthew 5:14-15, “You are the light of the world . . . (15) Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all” (NLT). That light he wants to shine out of us is the glory of the Lord. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him and reflect His glory even more” (NLT).
Now think about this: what does light do? Light dispels darkness. It reveals beauty. Light illuminates truth. It gives warmth. Light heals. And light helps people see where they’re going and find their way home. Jesus says, That’s what I want you to do. You are the light of the world. I want you to bring warmth to cold hearts. I want you to shine in a dark world. I want you to illuminate and reveal the truth. And I want you to help people find their way home to me. Just as “the glory of the Lord shone round about them,” God wants His glory to shine all about you. In fact, the Bible says in Philippians 2:15 that we are to shine like stars in the universe.So how do you light the world with the glory of God? Jesus told us how. He said this in Matthew 5:!6, “Let your light shine for all; let your good deeds glow for all to see, so that they will praise your Father in heaven” (TLB). In other words, you light the world through deeds of grace. What does that look like? Deeds of compassion — stepping into someone else’s pain to help bring them relief. Deeds of mercy — being kind to people who have offended you and forgiving those who sin against you.
Deeds of justice — speaking up for those who have no voice and using your influence to help those who have no influence. Deeds of generosity — when you see a need, meet the need (if it is within your power to do so). Deeds of selflessness — putting other people first. In other words, you light the world by letting people not just hear, but see the love of Christ in practical ways.
And when they see that you care, then they will want to know the reason for the hope you have. When they see your good deeds, as Jesus said, they will praise your Father in heaven. That’s how you let your light shine for the glory of God. In other words, you let the glory of the Lord shine round about those who are living in darkness — so that they can find their way to the manger.
Questions To Consider
- What do you think of the story above where everyone in the neighborhood, especially the children, made their own clay versions of people and animals for the Christmas story? How does that make it more real?
- Light dispels darkness. It reveals beauty. Light illuminates truth. It gives warmth. Light heals. And light helps people see where they’re going and find their way home. With your children, get a flashlight or a lighter. Get in a closet where there are no windows. Close the door and turn off the light if there is one in the closet. Let the darkness take its effect. Wait at least 5 minutes. Then turn on the flashlight or a butane candle fire lighter and strike it. Ask your children to compare the difference that little light makes for them to see. Then compare that to God’s glory shining through us. Ask them what they learned from this.
- What deeds of grace, deeds of compassion, deeds of mercy, deeds of justice, deeds of generosity and deeds of selflessness can you do this week to shine the glory of God in the lives of others?
Scripture To Meditate On: Isaiah 60:1, “Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Lord Jesus, how can You call me a light? In my own strength, by my own power, I can’t light up anything. I am only the candle. But You are the flame. Lord, I’m asking You to touch me with Your holy fire so that my faith will ignite and illuminate the darkness with Your glory. Lord, let Your glory “shine round about” me so that others may find their way home to You. In your name I pray, amen.”
I love you Southside!—Pastor Kelly