Wednesday's Devotion

Wednesday, December 17, 2003

He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."
(Luke 10.27 NRSV)

One of the most famous songwriters in America is Irving Berlin. Funny about Irving Berlin. He can't read music. He carries a special piano with him. Whenever he needs to play a sharp or a flat, he presses a special pedal that shifts the entire keyboard. He doesn't know how to play on the black keys. And his voice is terrible--like a hoarse tomcat with his tail in a clothes wringer. But as Irving Berlin begins to sing, the loudest cheers of the day erupt. Some of the fellows are shouting themselves hoarse. Berlin is singing one of his own compositions and everyone is going wild. Even the coarseness of his voice and the limitations of his piano playing cannot spoil the effect as he sings, "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas. Just like the ones I used to know...."
As he sings, the thoughts of every G.I. in the audience drift back to happier days, warmer days--family and friends and sweethearts back home.
How can you explain or describe or quantify what Christmas means in our lives? Norman Vincent Peale tells about two men who were standing on Fifth Avenue at 57th Street in New York City during the Christmas rush, waiting for a red light.
One of them was irritated by the traffic. "This town is totally disorganized," he growled. "Look at this traffic! It's terrible! Something ought to be done about it."
The other man was more philosophical. Thoughtfully he countered, "You know, it's astounding, the romance of it. There was a baby born of peasant parents in a little out-of-the-way place halfway around the world from here. The parents had no money or social standing, yet two thousand years later that little baby creates a traffic jam on Fifth Avenue, one of the most sophisticated streets in the world. This irritates you. Instead it should fascinate you."
I agree. It should fascinate us. A baby boy, born in an obscure village, his simple parents no more than refugees, and yet around the world during this special season of the year, millions of people are affected by his birth. Praise God!
Will it affect you in moving closer to God?
Dear God, help me to be open to this season affecting my spiritual well being, as Jesus fills my heart with love. Amen.
Ron Newhouse

Help Promote Devotions.Net | Past Devotions

| Home | Bible | Devotions | Humor | Visitors | Links |