Christmas Tidings.

"'He defended the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Is not this to know me?' declares the Lord."
-Jeremiah 22:16

When Jesus came to earth, He did not come to be with the Pharisees and people in power... He came to be with the poor, the needy, the broken, the cheaters, the liars, and the lowly. He did not come seeking love from people who would give him a place in society; He came seeking to show His love to the world. And He didn't just say that He loves us- He showed it that afternoon on the cross. He showed it with every lash of the whip, every tongue that scoffed at Him. His arms which were bound to rough wood pulled the flesh off His back as He propelled Himself upwards to gulp a few precious breaths of air... that's how He showed love. His physical pain was nothing compared to the spiritual pain of having the sins of the world on Him and thus being forsaken by His Father. It hurt the Father to see His Son suffer. It hurt the Son to suffer. But because of Love, we don't suffer.

I want to know this God! I want to know the Father who loves, the Son who died, and the Holy Spirit who inspires. I want to experience Him in every way possible. I want His love to flow through my whole being. I want to be the sweet incense that travels to heaven... I want to follow His will with my whole heart. The best part? I can't do any of this apart from Him.

So it's Christmas. I have all of this stuff going through my head... while at the same time, spending a ton of money on my family. While that's not a bad thing and showing love to them through my favorite giving love language (different from my receiving love language), I believe I'm called to something more. I mean, I SAY that I want to know God, but am I defending the cause of the poor and needy?

As many of you know, our Sunday School kids are sponsoring two children to go to Bring Me Hope summer camp this summer (July 2011) through our offerings taken every Sunday at Sunday School. Bring Me Hope leads four weeks of summer camps for Chinese orphans. (For more info, click here) As many of you know, I am trying to go for a few weeks of these camps. What a lot of you don't know is that I probably won't have my passport in time to be able to get into the Republic of China. I am at peace with this, but will still keep going in case China is in fact where God wants me this summer. Either way, our kids are able to help with the organization, which they are all excited about. Last Saturday was our two hour practice for the Sunday School Christmas program. One of our kids asked if we were going to do offering, which we weren't. "Oh, good, because I only have two pennies and I can't even find them anymore but I was going to give them."

"Well, it's probably a good thing you couldn't find them... you should keep them if they are your last pennies," I responded.

And other times, I had kids offer me their last piece of chocolate or Christmas candy but I would refuse them because they were their last. They should keep them, right?

Or should they?

One thing I love about working with kids is that they understand giving. They understand what their favorite things are, what things have value to them. To one kid it was money, to other kids it's chocolate and candy. But they know that these things that have value are better if shared. They WANT to share (and often won't take no for an answer!). This kind of loving giving is something I should be striving for personally and also building up in these kids. I pray that they never lose this drive to share those things that have the most value to them.

"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share." -1 Timothy 6:17-18

I think these kids have figured out a part of knowing God. A huge part. May God's gift of love to you this Christmas inspire you to show love to those in need and to share the things in life that have the most value to you... whether that be in song, in time, through cooking, cleaning, or helping in any way you can. And may you experience and know God in ways you never have before.

(And a P.S.- I don't really want to say this, but just so you know I'm not just doing lip service, tonight I adopted a kid through Compassion International. If you feel led to adopt a child into your family, pray for them, and seek to nourish them spiritually, please do so. I can tell you right now that it is one of the biggest ways you will ever experience God. Kids never cease to amaze you and when a kid is depending on you for their daily needs- it's just incredible. Check it out and pray over how you can help these kids... and then do it!)