MAKING THINGS RIGHT | A Christmas Devotion

Christmas can be a complicated equation.

It certainly was for my sister Mary and me. Four kids between the two of us had us coordinating gifts for weeks across 1,200 miles.

But the sum of our efforts never seemed to be revealed until late Christmas Eve when all the stores were closed.

"One, two, three, four, five." I counted the number of gifts in each stack with a precise finger, then repeated the count three times.

On the fourth round, something didn't add up. "One, two, three, four, five....six."

"SIX?!" I looked at Mary in horror. How could we deliver the glorious message of Christmas to our children if we fell short by three gifts?

At this late hour, we had limited options: Run to the nearby party store for a few haphazard items or cover our error with tons of tinsel and hope nobody noticed.

"More! More! More!" is how the world makes up the difference.

But Christmas isn't about covering up problems or adding to them; it's about Jesus intervening in an impossible equation and making us right with God.

Instinctively, Mary knew this and quickly grabbed the offending extra gift, tucking it into a nearby stocking where the present count didn't matter.

"Nice work, Santa."

With a click of our cocoa mugs, we toasted to a wrong made right in our little corner of the world.

Righting wrongs isn't Christmas magic; it's holy work. When we receive the Christ child, God's Spirit moves in. We become His ministers of reconciliation.

The equation of Christmas doesn't have to be weighty or complicated. There's no need for pricey presents or an even gift exchange.

Love Jesus; love people.

Light the tree. Lighten the load. Mend the fence. Keep the peace.

When you right a little wrong in front of you, God's glory will be revealed in big ways.

Don't overthink it. Keep it simple. Make it right.

Then raise your cocoa mug to the One Who makes it possible.

"Nice work, Jesus. All glory to You."

"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." —2 Corinthians 5:18