Bare-bones knowing
By Ken and Jan Merop
Cleveland, Tennessee
In the corner near a bank of windows sat a bare tree. Freshly cut, its fragrance filled the room. Its natural beauty needed no decoration.
Yet, the Christmas season begged me to dress up this wonder of creation with a little creativity of my own.
So, out came the decorations from years past. Each one when unwrapped brought back a memory of a person, event, or holiday nostalgia. Positioning them just so on the tree is something I love to do.
God created in me the love of beauty, nature, and creativity. I delight in arranging the balance of light and color to bathe our home with the joy of the season. Winsomeness, charm, and gracefulness result, and I feel alive in who he designed me to be.
I can’t wait for darkness to descend so we can light up our corner of the neighborhood and declare to passersby that Jesus is the Light of the world and the reason for our celebration. And like the many twinkling lights on the tree, there are many facets to this jewel that God the Father gave us on that first Christmas Day.
Let the light catch this facet: Immanuel, God with us. This is reality. Not just then when he came and lived on the earth, but now, today, and forever.
And the word he speaks to us in this name is that we are known and that he longs to be known by us, too. We know that only God can create a tree from nothing (we need the seed!). So, the tree filling the room with its fragrance was already perfect in God’s eyes. He knew its purpose and loveliness long before it found its way into our home for a few weeks.
So, it is with us. In Jeremiah 1: 5, NLT God is speaking to the prophet Jeremiah. But there is a lesson here for all of us. The lesson? We are known for our bare-bones condition and loved just the same.
“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart…”
Jeremiah was set apart to be God’s prophet to the nations. God has set each one of us apart to worship and serve him. Even before he dresses us up in his righteousness when we are saved, he knows and loves us.
How well do we know and reflect him to a watching world?
Light brings hope into the darkness. Oh, how we sparkle when we let his light shine! Christmas joy and blessings! Selah
Nature’s Gentle Reminder
Pinecones dazzle against a snowy white Christmas ball.
Suspended on a live, Evergreen Christmas tree,
each little cone resting on a snowball
reminds one of nature’s natural beauties.
We can recreate it artistically,
but only God creates from nothing.
“Have you entered the treasury of the snow?”
“All things were created through Him and for Him…
And in Him all things consist.”
Job 38: 22 and Colossians 1:16b, 17b
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After six years in the mountains of Avery County, Ken and Jan Merop are now living in the hilly Tennessee countryside of Cleveland, TN…just outside of Chattanooga. Ken’s photos can be seen at kenmeropphotography.com.
Read more Christian news from Ken and Jan HERE.
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