Listen to this devotion
Family Time
In the Word
As God has said: "I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people" (2 Corinthians 6:16b).
Of the Word
Christmas is a family time. It can be seen in the number of cars parked in our neighbor's driveway or the extra groceries piled in baskets at the supermarket. When families gather for worship on Christmas they bring generations together, often filling up an entire church pew.
Throughout the Bible, God speaks of His desire to live in a family relationship with us. He invites us to call Him Father, and He continually calls us His sons and daughters, His children and heirs. He promised a Messiah to be born, the only One who could bring us into God's family through His death and resurrection. God's promise was fulfilled in the birth of Jesus and in His life, death, and resurrection. Through faith in Jesus, our place in God's family is secure, not just for the holidays, or until death, but forever.
For God's children, there's no such thing as an absent family, a broken family, or no family. At Christmas time and always, He is our loving Father and we are His beloved children. Because of Him, we have everything in the world to smile about.
Walking with my Lord
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for bringing me into the family of my heavenly Father. Amen.
Mustard Seed: The Joy of Christmas. 21/32 Author: Patricia Mitchell. ©2011, revised 2024 Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, 801 Seminary Place Ste. L010, St. Louis, MO 63105. www.lwml.org
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
