Does my daughter need more presents under the tree, or does she need to see more loving kindness in the world around her?
What can I do to change the world so that it is a better place for her to live in?
Would extending love to those that are unloved and without hope this Christmas maybe touch one or two hearts with the fire of the love inside me? And if that flicker of love then touched a few more hearts, could it not start a forest fire?
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Do we forget the power and witness of our actions and lives? They either prove the truth of the words about love and grace and mercy and forgiveness that we share, or prove us to be hypocrites – dead and rotting on the inside, but presenting ourselves as clean and righteous on the outside.
So help me find opportunities to SHOW my love, to SHOW CHRIST’S LOVE this Christmas season in my actions. Let me see the opportunities and leap into action, joyfully sharing, and loving and serving others.
Because my actions reflect the love that I have received, they reflect the love that lives in me – and if Christ lives in me, doesn’t my cup run over with His love?
This Christmas, let me use my actions and my money and my life as a gift to others. Let me remember that my best witness is not a loud voice, because without love, we are but a noisy gong to those around us. Don’t let me just be a noisy gong – let my life actually make a difference, not just in words, but in actions.
Imagine the change that could occur in our communities, if we bought a few extra gifts this year – one for the widow down the street, one for that person that hurt us so deeply, one for that person that we hurt so deeply, and one for that homeless man we sometimes we downtown near the Soup Kitchen. And I’m not talking about handing them our left over junk – I mean a gift that we thought about and prayed about and really put some heart into. How much of a blessing might it be to them this Christmas season? And how much of a blessing might it be to us as it softens our heart and tears down those walls that we have left separating us from these, our brothers and sisters.
Remind me to never stop loving even those we consider unlovable.
Remind me to never stop holding out hope for the hopeless.
Remind me to never forget that an enemy is one loving reconciliation away from being a friend.
Remind me that as a Christ follower, my purpose is to share His love if I truly know His love.
And friend, if this is helpful to you as well, join me – and let’s set fire to the hatred and judgement and separation and divisiveness of this world – and let’s cry out with our loving actions towards our fellow man – so they will know that we are alive in Christ, because we love like Christ!
Harold J. Ballinger 