Christmas Devotional 5: Jesus’ Love is Brighter than Your Hurt

Luke 2:1-7; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20a

Imagine Mary and Joseph coming around the last turn before entering Bethlehem. Mary feels rotten. She says to Joseph, “Hey husband, with all these people in Bethlehem, do you think we’ll find a place to stay?” Joseph replies confidently, “No problem! Any innkeeper who sees I have a wife ready to give birth after traveling for days on a donkey will surely give us a room. Everyone knows that’s what they should do.”

My guess is you know the story, but let’s take a look at the verses in Luke.

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. Luke 2:1-7 22

1. What town did Joseph and Mary leave? N__________________________ _____________________________________________________________ vs 4

2. What town did they go to? B______________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ vs 4

3. Complete verse 6: “…the time came for the _________________ _______ ________________________________________________________________.”

4. Why were they in a stable? ______________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ vs 7

What happened to Mary and Joseph is a hurt upon a hurt. At those times in life when you are already facing struggles, the last thing you need is for the people you love to hurt you. They may not realize that they are hurting you or even just drifting away from you, but they are. With cancer, this can happen more than you might imagine.

What if a month before you were diagnosed you made a list of people that you KNEW would be there for you through your cancer struggle? My guess is some of them were there to support you, but others seemed to have slowly drifted away. You just don’t hear from them. Like Joseph’s situation, it’s easy to look at your situation and believe that people will act as you would like them to. Unfortunately, when they don’t act that way, it hurts.

Write here the initials of someone who has drifted away from you during your cancer struggle. It could be an adult child, a sibling, a parent or dear friend. ______________________________________________________________________

Even though they have drifted away, maybe you do not want to lose touch. This relationship could begin to grow closer if they understood more about your cancer struggle. It is through sharing that you build closeness; even sharing about your cancer.

Part of you might think, “Why should I reach out to them when I am the one with cancer? Can’t they understand I just want to hear from them?” It would be wonderful if they apologized for their delay and reached out, but sitting in your hurt while waiting for their apology is not God’s plan. Jesus has already reconciled with them for how they have hurt you, and now it’s your turn.

Read the verses below – first the New International version (NIV) of the Bible and then the Amplified version:

New International version (NIV) 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. So we are Christ’s ambassadors, as though God was making His appeal through us. 2 Corinthians 5:18-20a 23

Amplified Version 18 But all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ [making us acceptable to Him] and gave us the ministry of reconciliation [so that by our example we might bring others to Him], 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting people’s sins against them [but canceling them]. So we are Christ’s ambassadors, as though God was making His appeal through us. 2 Corinthians 5:18-20a

From the words in bold which expand on the translation of the scriptures, look at these 4 things:

1. We are made acceptable to God though Christ.

2. God gave us the ministry of reconciliation so that by our examples of reconciliation, we can bring others to Christ.

3. Christ did not count people’s sins, but canceled them.

4. We are to do the same as Christ’s ambassadors.

It’s number 3 that can be a tough one for me: Christ did not count people’s sins, but canceled them. Why is this tough for me? Because on some days, in some moods, I can be really good at counting other people’s sins. Canceling those sins then becomes a whole lot harder.

The truth? Your hurt upon hurt is already gone. After all, regardless of whether they know they hurt you, Christ knows and He has already washed away their insensitivity, their self-focus, and even their disregard for your needs, if that was present. If Jesus did all that for them, stop and think about what He has done for you. It’s like, “Ow! They hurt me! Wait a minute; I’m the beloved child of God. I’m going to do great no matter what. That hurt isn’t stronger than the safety of my unity with Christ. I need to remember, , Jesus’ love is brighter than the darkness of any hurt.”

So now it’s our turn to be an example of reconciliation.

How does this ministry of reconciliation work? Thinking of the person whose initials you wrote earlier, fill in the blanks below.

1. Pray – fill in the blank with the initials and say the prayer aloud. Jesus, I ask for you to go into my heart and __________________’s heart to help us find reconciliation. Give us the words and the understanding to find this healing. Amen.

2. What do you want? - Do you want this person to understand the difficulties of your cancer, or would you prefer to simply increase your contact with them? _____ understand difficulties____ increase contact ______ both

3. First step - Take a small initiative to reach out. Share a meal, visit a mutual friend/family member, text updates about your cancer, and other topics, too. You will see that reconciliation is not just a gift for the person who hurt you. It is a GIANT gift from God specifically for you. Just start with consistent prayer and let God lead your heart.

Jesus, There would be no reconciliation without You. Only You can shine so much love on a hurt until it shrinks and disappears. Even when the world tells me I’ve been wronged, push my heart towards reconciliation of the relationship and restoration of my hurt heart. All of this is possible through You. In Your name I pray, AMEN