and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests"
Luke 2:14
Being back in NoVa is a whole different adjustment for me. Now that I have my car again, my road rage has returned along with it (i'm getting better though!). I'm working again, and there are some people in the airport who just kill me sometimes; after a 4:30am wakeup call and then being on my feet for 8 hours it's easy for me to be testy. And being back home there are chores that I'm expected to do and that's another thing I can complain about! I'm very good at complaining...
So to fix my mindset, everytime I've caught myself complaining I go through every single thing in the day I'm thankful for. Yesterday, I had like twenty by the time I got to work at 5:30am. I thanked God that I woke up on time, thanked him that I had a car that worked, that I'd straightened my hair the night before so I had time to run contacts to my boyfriend's house that he'd forgotten at mine, that I had time and food to eat breakfast, that I had running water to brush my teeth, that I had a safe drive, that I got to work on time, that I got my Starbucks before my shift started, and I could go on and on.
The point of this rambling is that a lot of times when we go through the things we're thankful for, we don't pass the standard "friends, family, God"- which are HUGE, but we've been blessed with SO much more. Northern Virginia holds the top 3 richest counties in the United States, and yet the fact that we are so incredibly privileged to have all that we do doesn't turn into humility in our hearts. Usually it's pride, greed, materialism, and for me and most of us it's all three! I'm sure I speak for most of us when I say I've spent many Christmases upset that I didn't get an iPhone or a new car exactly when I asked for it while I'm sitting in a pile of presents that my friends and family have all been gracious enough to give me.
The last part of the verse in Luke says "to men on whom his favor rests". How amazing is it that God came down to men (to all of us) in the first place. To us who forget daily how amazingly blessed we are not only to live in this extremely privileged society, but to have a Savior who was created by God himself in he most humbling entrance to the world by being born in a manger- surrounded by animals and his parents who were poor and virgins. The King of all the earth being brought to us in the most unfit way to suit the Son of the Creator of the universe.
But that's not even the best part. The last part says,"...on whom his favor rests." That's so hard for me to wrap my head around. It's so easy to pick out faults in ourselves, or have our faults picked out on others but God who has EVERY reason to condemn us, for He is perfect, only loves us. Wholly, completely, fully unconditionally loves us. No matter what we do, no matter what we say, no matter what we think or how many times we are greedy or how many times we forget about Him. His favor rests on us, of all beings. On us who are so prideful that we forget about all the people on this earth that won't even have presents on this Christmas or, most importantly, know of the TRUE gift that God has given us. I know at least for me that I haven't gone out of my way this Christmas season, of all seasons, to let God through me show someone the truly amazing gift he's given us of love and salvation.
By being going over all the things I'm thankful for each day, God's glory is revealed to me more and more. Glory to God in the highest. I hope that first, we can be willing today to have God come to change our hearts so we can have a thankful and humble heart that is ready to share, through God's spirit, the amazing gift he's given us in his Son who will save us all from eternal separation from the one who loves us despite anything we could ever do to turn away from him. That is such a wonderful gift.
So today, I'm thankful for many things. I'm thankful that I woke up early so I could get a lot out of my day. I'm thankful that I have a space heater in my room and plenty of blankets so I don't get cold, and for a family that's awake and bustling around downstairs, and that I'm fortunate enough to have a Bible sitting next to me so I can try to understand how to demonstrate God's love and learn of how amazing He really is, thankful to have a laptop that I can be typing on about all this. Most of all, I'm thankful for the incredible gift. That while we were still sinners, God sent his Son for US. Us who are sooo undeserving and selfish and don't even appreciate it most of the time. I hope that we can not only be grateful for all the blessings God has given us but also that our joy would spread so that everyone may know of the most important gift this christmas.
“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid." John 14:27
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23
"No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:37
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