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"Glowing" Christians At
Christmas
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Moore's
Chapel Home Missions & Evangelism Devotions
Children's Devotion - God's Plan for Your Life Teen
Devotion -
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A Simple ChristmasIt's interesting to recall a memory that made me experience how it feels to teach something (at a time when I was a student myself… a mere learner). It happened several years ago when my friends and I volunteered to handle a Bible class once a week for little kids at a nearby school. It went on for a few months, inclusive of the month of December. During the school's early Christmas celebration, the children's parents were invited... and I was also invited together with my friends. The Christmas party, held in a simple venue, was just a simple get-together of simple people who were happy to share simple food and exchange simple gifts. As I relished the privilege of being there with them, I did feel that the smiles of these little children added meaning to my Christmas that year. Before I went home late in the afternoon, the kids, as a class, gave me an unwrapped gift-a little glow-in-the-dark figurine. Ah, their sweet gesture moved me indeed! It moved me because I never expected that I would receive a Christmas present from them… from these little children. Now, as I look back, I feel grateful whenever I remember that at a time when I was supposed to be the one teaching something, I ended up as the one learning instead. The value of giving that I have learned from the simplicity of these little children has left a mark in my heart… a mark that reminds me of the beautiful memory of a simple Christmas. The Unwrapped Gift That simple Christmas has turned into a sweet memory and the unwrapped gift that I received as a Christmas present from those little children made me wonder how a heartfelt gift could mean so much. On my way home, I sincerely thanked God for allowing me to experience
such a memorable When darkness enfolds my surroundings, do I diminish even just a bit of its blackness? When the lives of the people I love (and the people I'm supposed to love) need illumination, what becomes of me? Do I know how to bring smiles to people's faces? And do I even know how to smile?? …Am I courageous enough to share the light I have found in Jesus? Do I know how to "absorb" God's Word and emit its luminosity to others? Do I radiate the resplendent light of God's love and the light of Christian faith on earth? Do I "glow" in the "dark"?? The unwrapped Christmas gift I received from those "little angels" who touched my life has become a part of the perishable treasures I keep. That glow-in-the-dark figurine has constantly reminded me of how I should live my life as a child of God. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden… Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father." (Matthew 5:14,16) © 2004 Rose Antoinette Longakit |
Christmas. With that simple-but precious-gift in my hand, I
reached home in an unusually happy mood… the kind of mood that makes one
feel like nothing could go wrong. There were tasks to be done at home and I
forgot about the Christmas present for a while. But as I turned off the
lights after my bedtime prayers, I was surprised to see something
glowing-the luminous gift that I left on my bedside table! I smiled and
tried to get some sleep, but I pondered on that idea-the idea of glowing
in the dark. Suddenly, I was reminded of my way of life as a Christian…
and of my purpose as a child of God.