From the youngest to the oldest of us, Christmas is probably the dearest holiday of the year. While it brings joy and happiness, family reunions, celebrations, and finally, true joy, it is also a time to reflect on a religious state of being. United with our families, we see the power of love and a positive focus on Christian values.

Although the Christmas story is well known to Christians and non-Christians in the western world, the scripture for this devotion focuses on a promise of mercy. With the renewal of our holy covenant reflected in the significant Holy Nativity, we are reminded to follow our Christian practice to spread the word of God and be the proverbial ‘fishers of men’ (even though I prefer the wording to be more inclusive in saying men and women), and to walk in the paths of peace.

When I view the issues of the world in terms of dangers and toils, I sometimes have to deal with the hand of despair in what is occurring. Like many other Christians, I wonder what is wrong. It does not take much wonderment to read stories about avarice, greed, brutality, and probably the worst of all, indifference, to realize the laxity in the greater Christian community in terms of practicing what we preach.

The Christmas season gives us an excellent opportunity to re-emphasize the Christian dictum of following the biblical guidance.

There are so many ways to effectively extend our Christian faith, other than the famous story of following rules and practices trying to assert that we are holier than others.

While I was raised in a lower economic household, I had parents who knew how to practice Christian love, not only to our family but also to those around us.

I remember World War II vividly. After the war, there were many men (veterans, particularly) who were adrift, trying to find themselves. Because our house was about a block from the railroad tracks, it was not uncommon for there to be a knock on the door by an individual who was ‘down and out’ economically, asking for food. Sometimes they would offer to do a job or two for the food. I remember that my mother never hesitated to fix a hot meal for those individuals, without asking for anything in return. To me as a young boy, and even more as an elderly person, my mother personified being Christ-like. Her acts of kindness influenced me to reach out to those who were less fortunate or who were undervalued due to the color of their skin or some other social, dehumanizing factors. I am not sure I ever told my mother how much her actions shaped me in such a profound, positive, Christian way. My father was exemplary, too, in that he could never turn away a small child who might be trying to earn a bit of money for his or her family.

Christmas is the time of gift giving, as well as love sharing. Let all of us try to be more Christlike as we share the joy of the birth of a Savior who died to set us free.