Monday, January 09, 2017

Merry Last Day of Christmas—Delivering God’s Gifts, Part 5

Although we have come to the end of this year’s Christmas season, the joy of the season does not have to end. We can continue to experience the joy of God’s gifts by continuing to deliver them.

We consistently experience that dynamic at the UALC Garden—we receive joy as we go about the process of delivering God’s gifts. I’m not just talking about the actual distribution of the harvests, but also about the work that comes ahead of them. We find joy in that work, even if it is sometimes difficult and sometimes done in less that ideal weather. God simply works that way—He delivers that joy to us because He wants us to keep delivering His gifts to others.

That dynamic is not unique to the garden; it is present in all ministry that seeks to deliver God’s love.  Indeed, it is reflected in scripture:

Blessed is anyone who cares for the poor and the weak; in time of trouble Yahweh rescues him. 2Yahweh protects him, gives him life and happiness on earth.

One who takes pity on the poor is blessed.

Whoever is kind to the poor is lending to Yahweh who will repay him the kindness done.

A kindly eye will earn a blessing

Give generously to the poor, so that your blessing may lack nothing.

There is more happiness in giving than in receiving.


You are more than welcome to join in our joy when we start gardening again in the spring, but you don’t have to wait until then. You can start today by using your speech and your prayers to deliver God’s gifts. You can experience it by diligently approaching your  duties at your "day job" as a way of delivering God’s goodness. You can look for opportunities to perform corporal and spiritual acts of mercy. You can get involved in ministries that do those kind of works on an organized basis, wonderful groups like SON Ministries, Lutheran Social Services, and Catholic Social Services. The opportunities to experience the joy that comes from delivering God’s gifts are all around us. We simply need to get to work. Then it can be Christmas all year round.

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