Generosity and joy...
God's gift at Christmas has so much to do with, and yet still so much to teach us, about generosity and joy. Why is it that I have often learned the most about these two virtues from those who have the least? I think it's because I subconsciously tie it so closely to "what we have" from a western mindset. The Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7) turns this completely upside and is a good Christmas reading to get perspective on generosity and joy during this season.
One of our pastors (Marilyn Muller) is having a different kind of Christmas in Zambia, together with her neice Jodie and a team from Canada. Below are some perspectives from the other side of the globe.
Marilyn writes about Zambia:"we arrived in Lusaka safe and sound but very tired; the day took us to the market to buy supplies for the 200+ volunteers that celebrated their end of the year celebration yesterday; they all received shoes, umbrellas, shirts, chitenje (women's skirts), bibles, cards, etc. You should have seen them celebrate... then they cooked food for over the 200 people there out in a wooden pit - they had fried chicken, chips, salads, you name it - they ate it... for some of them it was the feast of the year.
Tomorrow we go to Makululu for our kids Christmas party - over 420 kids will be attending - it will all be outdoors - we packed their bags today - they are so excited...
there is so much poverty present, yet the people are so joyful; when they sing in church all us white people cry and cry; the joy they express and the community spirit is beyond what I would ever imagine... Jodie and I have to preach a 40 minute sermon on Christmas day in the Christian Center here in Kabwe... the service is to last for over 3 1/2 hours.... please please pray that our words will be encouraging to them..."
May you experience the generosity of God's extravagant love and the joy of truly knowing Him this Christmas. And may we be vessels of these very things to our world in which we live. Merry Christmas.