Each and every Christmas I am awed by the very same thing. The Word of God became flesh and lived among us. Christ, the Son of God, "did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness." (Philippians 2:7)

Imagine that! God’s son, safe and comfortable in the heavenly kingdom of God, did not take advantage of his position in heaven, but chose to empty himself and take on human form. Jesus chose to become one of us. Jesus chose to live among us, to suffer with us, to experience life in all its ups and downs. Jesus chose to leave the security of God’s kingdom and come to us, to suffer for us, and to save us. It is truly mind-boggling to consider all that Jesus sacrificed when he chose to come to us in order to die for us.

I also find the fact that Jesus chose to come to us to save us very humbling. Compared to what Jesus gave up to come to us, why do we often find it hard to go to others to share with them the love of God in word and deed? Jesus left heaven to come to earth to suffer and die. Following the example of our Lord, we certainly should be able to leave the comfort of our easy chairs in order to serve our neighbors. The sacrifice of love for others to which Jesus calls us is nothing compared to the sacrifice he endured for us.

There can be no better Christmas gift than the one that God has already given us - the gift of his son, the child of Bethlehem, who chose to come to us, to die for us, that we might have a place in God’s kingdom. And now, in the spirit of that Christmas gift, we are called on to go to our neighbors and share with them the love of Christ.

As you celebrate Christmas this year I pray that you find the courage to chose to go to others as Christ came to us, sharing the gift of God’s love in all that you say and do.

In Christ,

Pastor Knowles