Christmas Day. FULL of GRACE and TRUTH

Prepare to Listen.  Light all the Advent candles.  And the Word became flesh and lived among us.
 
Prayerfully Read John 1:6-14
6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  7He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.  8He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.  
9The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.  10He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.  11He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.  12But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.  14And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

Prayerfully Wonder and Reflect
“He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.”  If Jesus came to earth today, would you accept and receive him?
 
His own, the Jews, those who should have known better, did not accept or receive him.  They knew their scriptures about Messiah; ought to have known what to expect and should have eagerly welcomed him.  They didn’t.  He wasn’t what they expected and hoped for.  They never saw his glory, never experienced his grace and truth.
 
The question we need to ask ourselves is whether we’d accept Jesus if he showed up today as he did 2000 years ago.  The Gospel stories  make it clear that Jesus isn’t anything like what most of us expect, or perhaps even want.  Would we accept him?  Or would we create him into an image we can control, one that hates what we hate and loves what we love?  It’s a challenging question.
 
Accepting, receiving Jesus means receiving and loving what he loves because Jesus gives us “power to become children of God.”  Only then will we see his glory, a glory filled with grace and truth.  Living in grace and truth will be important to us, and what we diligently seek.
 
How can you welcome Jesus into your home this Christmas?
 
Prayerfully Respond
Lord Jesus, thank you for coming into the world in human flesh, living among us.  May I seek your grace and truth today and always.  Amen.
 
Live obediently.  Live in grace and truth.