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Windows into the Light by Michael Sullivan

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Signposts: Daily Devotions

Friday, December 12

[W]hen you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near.
—Luke 21:31

I really get frustrated with people who think that God is all about heaven. Don’t get me wrong. I think God cares very much about the next life. But if Jesus came to the manger so that we might have life and have it more abundantly, wasn’t God more concerned with this life—this messy existence that all of us face.

What would the world be like if all those signs on the roadside that try to scare people into belief were changed? Can you imagine such a world? I can see signs on barns in rural America that said “God loves you. Period,” or “”Jesus, Friend for Life.”

In that world, the love of God would be our focus and the grace of God would be our mainstay. We would stop making excuses for how the world treats others by no longer substituting the next life for our responsibility now. We’d know that the babe who comes to us is the one who asks us to expand the boundaries of our hearts, loving the world as the child in the manger.

So as we all prepare for the manger, for the incarnation of our Lord, why not let the focus be on how that incredible love transforms us? And in turn, how our transformation is the invitation to love the world as God loves us. Can you imagine? Can you be Christ to this world God so loves?

Gracious God, help me to be your incarnate love to his world. Show me how to love as you love and to be Christ to those who still wait for you. Amen.