At Christmas we give gifts. And we receive them.
In the devotional Nancy writes that we receive God more than we go out and find Him, both in salvation and in our lives.
Moved by the Spirit he went to the temple. And when the parents of the child Jesus brought him to perform the rite of the law for Him, he took the Child in his arms, and blessed God and said (Luke 2: 27-28)
"In this passage before Simeon's song, we see both sides," says Nancy. Presumably an old man at this time, he had been waiting many years to see the Messiah. 'And it was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit,' says the Bible, 'that he would not see death without first seeing the Christ of the Lord' (Luke 2:26)."
Simeon had the honor of taking the baby Jesus in his arms and receiving him. You can imagine?
Nancy continues: "We don't know if he held the baby close and pressed against his chest, the way you would hold a child in a suffocating hug. Perhaps by 'above', the Scripture means that he took Jesus from his mother and held him with his arms outstretched above his head, his eyes and adoration pointing joyfully toward the sky. The image is not described with that level of detail.
We can't hold baby Jesus close to us and smell his little head, but we can still receive Him, keeping our arms and hearts open to Him.
Christmas has come and gone, but we still need to receive Christ. Simeon's reception of the Savior reminds me to continue singing these familiar lyrics in the days to come.
Peace to the world!
To the world Peace, Jesus was born
our King was born,
the heart already has light,
and peace your Santa Grey,
and peace your Santa Grey,
and peace, and peace your Holy Grey.
To the world Peace, the savior
on Earth he will reign
the sinner is now happy
Jesus gives forgiveness
Jesus gives forgiveness
Jesus, Jesus forgives him.
He will set the world free
of thorns and affliction;
He will remove the curses,
will give his blessing,
will give his blessing,
He will give, he will give his blessing.
Peace to the world, he will rule
with Grace and with power:
he will test the nations
his love and his power
his love and his power
his love, his love and his power.
Give (and receive) Thank you
Once the gifts have been opened, what better way to say thank you for everything you've been given than with a thank you note? Your kids will love decorating their notes and writing personalized letters to those who gave them gifts. Additionally, it will instill in them a heart of gratitude for the generosity of others.
Check out these thank you note ideas . While some require a lot of time, effort, and supplies, others are as simple as printing them out and writing a note. This is a great way for the kids to spend a day during their Christmas holidays!
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