By Jack McCall
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11
Wouldn’t it be great if the headlines of our newspapers said, “Jesus, the Savior, has been born to us”?
How excited are we about Jesus’ existence on earth? I get really excited about it when I replace the name “David” in Luke 2:11 with my own: “Today in the town of Jack a Savior has been born; He is Christ the Lord.” Each of us is a little town and the birth of Jesus in us should be front-page news. God knows how important we think he is to us by the impact his presence in us has on others. Our loved ones should experience the joy of God’s presence whenever they are with us. Coworkers should see evidence of our relationship with God by the way we conduct ourselves at work. Customers should encounter God in the way we render service. The homeless person should get a touch from God when we treat him with love and respect.
The Christmas season is upon us, and all over the world folks will share the excitement of gift giving; but many will still ask silently, “Where is this Jesus?” No one has told them that Jesus is right outside their hearts, patiently waiting to be born in them. They may have never experienced Jesus alive in another person, which means that he is probably a complete stranger to them. Therefore, the true gifts of Christmas fail to reach their destination and regretfully do not get shared as they should – for God’s purpose.
Some time ago I was helping a homeless man shop for groceries. A customer of mine spotted me and stopped to say hello. Weeks later, at an appointment with the same customer, she inquired about why I was helping a homeless person. I told her how God had introduced me to the homeless man and that God was continuously sending me folks who needed a touch from him. My customer was moved, but I didn’t realize how much until this week. While visiting her, she handed me a gift card to a local grocery store in the amount of $100.00. She smiled and said, “This isn’t for you, Jack. It’s for someone you know who is struggling to make ends meet.” I told her that one man had just told me he only had $8.00 to his name and asked if I could give the card to him. She could only nod her head yes because God’s anointing had filled her with emotion. On my way to deliver her gift, I was in awe of how God’s love in one situation had impacted so many people: my customer, the homeless man, myself, and, hopefully, each of you.
What would folks see us doing for God if we had a reality TV show? Would our acts of love speak as loud as our testimony about knowing him?
This story was part of the Spark reflections, an email series that is sent each workday. You can sign-up to receive reflections like these at http://worklight.org/stay-connected/