Gauge Your Commitment This Christmas
Gauge Your Commitment This Christmas | December 22nd
A typical synopsis of most Christmas movie plots centers around characters discovering what truly matters in life. Whether it's about treating family better, valuing others, or being thankful for one's blessings, these films encourage the audience to focus on life's priorities. In addition to these themes, a meaningful area to reflect on this Christmas is your commitment to Christ. You can assess this by evaluating your faith and dedication to the Lord.
Consider the gauges on a car's dashboard to calculate your commitment this Christmas. For instance, gas gauges, oil gauges, and even speedometers serve as indicators. These gauges provide immediate measurements of your fuel level, speed, safety, and more.
Christmas is the ultimate gauge of one’s relationship with God and commitment to Christ. Thus, the Christmas narrative provides a great example of commitment when Luke, the historian and Gospel writer, notes Mary's response to Gabriel after the news of her miraculous and unprecedented future pregnancy.
Luke 1:38 records, "And Mary said, 'Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.' And the angel departed from her."
Notice how Mary regards herself, "I am the servant of the Lord." Some teachings today picture God as our servants. He has to serve our plans. He has to fit our vision, but it doesn't work that way. When we think along those lines, pride clouds our judgment, and we become hyper-critical of others and legalistic in our interpretation of Scripture. Not so with Mary. Next, Mary states that her decision to serve the Lord's plan is based on His Word ("Let it be unto me according to your word"). She essentially said, "God's will, not mine, be done."
Mary was humble and responded with an attitude that pleased God so much that Gabriel didn't have to follow up with her! No wonder God picked her to carry His son.
Knowing this, gauge your commitment to Christ. Is God on your schedule, or does he get the leftovers of your time? Are you obedient with your morality, or are your fleshly desires more important? Christmas is a time to make some positive changes. Start doing so by gauging your commitment now.
Consider the gauges on a car's dashboard to calculate your commitment this Christmas. For instance, gas gauges, oil gauges, and even speedometers serve as indicators. These gauges provide immediate measurements of your fuel level, speed, safety, and more.
Christmas is the ultimate gauge of one’s relationship with God and commitment to Christ. Thus, the Christmas narrative provides a great example of commitment when Luke, the historian and Gospel writer, notes Mary's response to Gabriel after the news of her miraculous and unprecedented future pregnancy.
Luke 1:38 records, "And Mary said, 'Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.' And the angel departed from her."
Notice how Mary regards herself, "I am the servant of the Lord." Some teachings today picture God as our servants. He has to serve our plans. He has to fit our vision, but it doesn't work that way. When we think along those lines, pride clouds our judgment, and we become hyper-critical of others and legalistic in our interpretation of Scripture. Not so with Mary. Next, Mary states that her decision to serve the Lord's plan is based on His Word ("Let it be unto me according to your word"). She essentially said, "God's will, not mine, be done."
Mary was humble and responded with an attitude that pleased God so much that Gabriel didn't have to follow up with her! No wonder God picked her to carry His son.
Knowing this, gauge your commitment to Christ. Is God on your schedule, or does he get the leftovers of your time? Are you obedient with your morality, or are your fleshly desires more important? Christmas is a time to make some positive changes. Start doing so by gauging your commitment now.
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