Day 4: Practical peace
Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? (James 2:15-16).
Heavenly Father, God of mercy and limitless compassion, You have instructed us in Scripture, Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act (Proverbs 3:27).
You did not withhold from us in our great spiritual poverty—You sent us the priceless gift of Your only begotten Son in the humblest, most vulnerable form—a helpless baby, dependent on the very humans He had created. Augustine of Hippo expressed it so well:
He so loved us that, for our sake, He was made man in time, although through Him all times were made. He was made man, who made man. He was created of a mother whom He created. He was carried by hands that He formed. He cried in the manger in wordless infancy, He the Word, without whom all human eloquence is mute (Sermon 188, 2).
Lord God, this Christmas season as we remember Your great gift, help us to minister to others in their poverty—in their need. Keep our hearts from the blindness of busyness and self-centered pursuits.
As we sing songs, and write cards, and speak of peace on earth, may we not be like the ones the apostle James describes—offering empty words while withholding what is in our power to give (James 2:15-16). May we see the need around us, and offer to others the practical peace of sharing a burden, lightening a load, soothing a hurt, wiping a tear, lending an ear, meeting a need...
Prince of Peace, You bless us with peace (Psalm 29:11). May we bless others with the blessings You so generously give us, remembering that 'whatever we for one of the least of these... we do for You’ (Matthew 25:40).
"And when the Lord Jesus has become your peace, remember, there is another thing: good will towards men. Do not try to keep Christmas without good will towards men."
— Charles Spurgeon
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