Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK
Dec. 5, 2011

Daily Ornament!
A Week of Love: Monday, Day Nine of Advent

“Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope in You all day long.” – Psalm 25:4-5

Gospel Reading: Matthew 22:23-33

During Advent we are called to remember the love of God. Because of His love, God sent His only Son into the world so that all might be saved from death. We also look forward with confidence in God’s love that on the day the Son of God comes again we will be like Him, raised from death to life. Advent is a time when we are invited to embrace the love of the Living God by remembering and hoping. (Illuminate, page 33)
Monday’s are tough enough but—then with the added pressure of the season—financially, emotionally, etc. I can see how quickly we can become both cynical and nonchalant when it comes to giving the best of your efforts whether it be to your job, your family or to the Church. It would be so easy—and convenient at times to simply, “check-out” so-to-speak when it comes to really caring and loving people. And then I read stories like this one that remind me our actions speak louder than our words—and love can happen at any time, any place! “I ended up in the wrong check-out line at Wal-Mart yesterday. I got in line at Register #9. There were several people ahead of me. I failed to notice that Register #9 was for shoppers that had 20 items or less. I hadn’t counted mine, but I knew I had more than 20 items. Here I was, already lined up—in the wrong line. I looked over at the adjacent lines. They were all full, backed up to the main aisle. Embarrassed, I stayed put. No one said a word. When I got to the register, I apologized to the clerk as she prepared to ring up my purchases. She said, “That’s okay; your items are small.” How kind of her. She could have said, “Sir, can’t you read?” Her kindness instantly put me at ease. The people in line behind me could have been rude; they weren’t. Were they all Christians? I don’t know. But they acted like it. They were what Paul admonished the Colossian Christians to be—“gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient.”
The most frantic shopping days of the year are just ahead. People’s nerves will be rattled. The human in us allows us to be impatient and unkind when some shopper picks up an item we want, or a self-preoccupied buyer moves their big cart into the 20-item register line just ahead of us. How we deal with it will determine the day they are having.
In the Gospel story (Matthew22:23-33), the Pharisees were looking for a way to make Jesus irrelevant—unappealing to the masses. What He proved is that when we follow and obey the Word of God, every day of the week, every moment of the day, even when it is not convenient, we may just impact someone’s life.
Heavenly Father, thank you for reminding me that rudeness is not a gift of the Spirit. Thank you for letting me see kindness in the face of the clerk at the cash register. Thank you for demonstrating to me that Christmas offers opportunities for me to show kindness, gentleness, and patience to others. Remind me how important it is to put others around me at ease. And most of all, send folk my way that need someone to love them. I'll make their day. In the strong Name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
Pastor J. T. Carnell