Today's Devotional

December 26, 2002

Subject:  In His Steps

Luke 2:52 - "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man."

The passage about the birth of Christ is somewhat comprehensive, but it quickly bottoms out in the Luke 2 account.  As the story unfolds, it goes quickly from the baby in a manger to this young boy of much wisdom and grace.  Then it simply ends detailing that he continually increased in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and man.

This is often the road that we travel in our lives.  We're so cute as babies and then we grow up into young kids and teenagers and there's so much hope.  We leave family and friends for college or the "real world" and we begin to make our own stake in life and often find favor of bosses and friends and our new surroundings.  However, because as believers we are aliens in this world, just like Jesus, we will eventually be rejected of men.  Let us not shun the rejection, but accept it, knowing that God Himself in His Son Jesus Christ was so rejected and has set an example that we should follow in His steps.

We should  make friends in the world, but we should also understand that those very same friends could one day despise us for our stance for Christ.  While the Holiday Season still moves on and everyone is "in the spirit of the season", let's remember that everyone is not "of the Spirit."

Acceptance or rejection, our call is to follow in His steps.

Carlen