Ordinary Lives No More

After all the hype and preparation for Christmas, especially during this very strange year of the COVID-19 pandemic, we return now to ordinary days.  We have our ordinary lives to look at, work on, and then make available to God for His good purposes.  The shepherds were back on the hillsides looking after their sheep and yet they would never be the same because of what they witnessed that night in the stable when they looked on Jesus, the newborn baby the angels had told them about.  Mary and Joseph wore the same clothes, had the same hair styles, and were just as poor the day after Jesus was born as the day before and yet they too were dramatically changed forever by the birth of baby Jesus.

We are ordinary people but when we encounter God we become those who are dramatically changed forever.  The guilt and shame of our past sin is removed from us and we are given right standing with God  We have dignity and honour now and can stand steady and straight because God’s love and acceptance makes us whole persons.

While we don’t yet know the whole story of our lives, no more than the shepherds and Mary and Joseph did, God knows what’s coming and He’s preparing us, working deep within our souls to give us everything we need so our ordinary lives shine brightly in a way that attracts others to this same wonderful new relationship with God through Jesus.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, You know every day of my life.  As ordinary as it may seem to me or others, help me to trust that You are working in me to do something that is wonderful that will have lasting impact for good.   Amen

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