REMINDER: The 12 days of Christmas are December 25 – January 5 (Epiphany Eve). We are just beginning our journey to Epiphany, so don’t put your Wise Men away yet. They haven’t even made it to Bethlehem.
Scripture: Matthew 2:13
…an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.
Thought from Day Two of the Twelve Days of Christmas:
On the second day of Christmas, my God gave to me – a way out when there doesn’t appear to be a way out. If you look at the whole of scripture, it appears that the God we worship is always working to draw people from enslavement and into freedom. Whether its systematic structures that keep segments of the population in servitude, addictions that keep individuals bound, or guilt that binds the brokenhearted God is working to change the circumstances. Though one important thing to note is that God most often uses people to help create a way when there doesn’t appear to be a way.
My family just watched Les Miserable last night (for the 100th time), and I was moved again by Valjean in the scene after the Bishop shows him grace. He is struggling to take his first step toward freedom and he says, “…why did I allow that man to touch my soul and teach me love? He treated me like any other. He gave me his trust. He called me brother. My life he claims for God above….He told me that I had a soul. How does he know? What spirit comes to move my life? Is there another way to go? …Another story must begin!” The door was opened by an individual who knew God’s grace and offered that same gift to another…thus creating a pathway where one had not previously been available. On this Second Day of Christmas, who are those givers of grace in your life? And how of you unlocked the door for someone else’s freedom?
Prayer: In your grace, O Lord, I desire to be a deliverer of your liberating grace to others. Amen.
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