Merry Christmas - day 5
For the love of God is this,
that we obey his commandments.
1 John 5:3
My son Jay, as you probably know, is at the Naval Academy. One of their goals is to make the men much tougher men. Therefore my favorite email from Jay in his first was: "Mom and Dad, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is: I have a huge black eye. The good news is: I got an A in boxing."
Today is known, especially in England and much of Europe, as Boxing Day. And no it has nothing to do with fists and black eyes. The day after Christmas, masters and servants have traditionally reversed roles.
All year long, the servants have to -- as our verse today says -- obey their master's commandments. (Whether they do so out of love, out of duty, or for the paycheck is entirely up to each particular servant.) On Boxing Day, the masters switch roles. And whether they do this out of love, out of duty, or because tradition is up to the individual master too.
At Christmas, Jesus took off his robes light and reversed roles. The master -- the King of Creation -- became the suffering servant. And of course he didn't do it out of duty; he did it out of love.
Rather than just returning gifts and shopping sales, who might you take a moment to serve today?
In Christ's Love,
a guy who wants a black eye
by the end of the day
(because I've boxed and served)
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