Christmas Devotion

Sunday, December 28, 2025  

Today's Scripture
Colossians 1:11–15, 19

May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. (NRSV)

Reflection

Paul prays unceasingly for the people of the church at Colossae. He prays that they have strength, the very strength of God, so that they have endurance and patience in all that they do. When the world presents challenges, frustrations, fears, griefs, and losses, may we, too, have endurance and a kind of patience that reminds us that this is not the end. There is more to come in this life and in the next. Endurance calls us to persevere in following Christ, acting with love, and working for justice.

Paul’s prayers also express a wish that the church have joyous gratitude — “joyfully giving thanks” to God that we are not alone, not lost in darkness, but that we are part of a people, the saints, the kingdom of God’s beloved Son. Darkness can be a place of nurture, like seeds nestled in the winter soils, waiting for the warmth and light of spring. But we cannot stay in darkness; we need the light to continue to grow and to find our way.

I find it important to remember that we are part of multiple peoples. We are part of the family of Christ, and we are part of the family of Creation, God’s Creation. It’s a bit like having a “nuclear family” and an “extended family.” We must care for the larger family and understand that we are shaped and formed by both the particular and the universal. We have duties and responsibilities to both.

God is both here and there. Christ is mystically present in all things, and we can open our hearts to that understanding. God, through Christ, is the spirit of life in all things, all creation. The fullness of God dwells in Christ, and opening our hearts to Christ allows the fullness of God to strengthen us, too.

Prayer

God of all Creation, thank you for all you have given us. Fill our hearts with the joy of Jesus Christ, rooted in the understanding that your glorious power flows through us, too. Let joy and love direct our steps and mold our thoughts, so that we do not give up, but persevere in all good things. In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen. 

Written by Nanette Sawyer, Associate Pastor

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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