Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about. (Luke 2:15)

Come with me for a moment to the manger. Do you see this tiny baby – perfectly formed, without any blemishes on his skin. For one moment look at those tiny flawless hands. Those hands fashioned this world – the sun, the moon, the stars, the planets, the rivers, the mountains, the animals and the plants. The fingers on those hands knit you and I together in our mother’s womb. 

These tiny hands will one day take and rub mud on the eyes of a blind man so that he might see. These tiny hands will one day patiently pick up a loaf of bread and break it, and then take a fish and break it. When these hands have taken five loaves and two fishes, they will have fed five thousand people. These hands will hold and hug little children to show to us that we just need to be like a little child to receive the Kingdom of Heaven. 

Just as Mary would wipe tears from his tiny cheeks with her eyes, one day these tiny hands would wipe tears from his cheeks as he stood weeping over the death of his friend Lazarus. These tiny hands would one day take a dead young girl’s hand and raise her to life. These tiny hands would one day wash the dirt and grime from the feet of his disciples. These tiny hands will take a loaf of bread and break it, as Jesus shares with his disciples his body that would be broken for us. These tiny hands would one day hold a cup of wine that Jesus would pass to each of his disciples sharing with them his blood shed for us. 

Look again at these tiny hands as they reach up for a mother’s love. One day these perfectly formed hands will have nails driven through them. Tiny newborn baby hands that will grow and one day be nailed to a cross holding his weight. Don’t despair! This isn’t the end of the story. Jesus is alive and his hands are reaching out to you!

Look again at these hands and see them outstretched to you welcoming you home. These tiny hands are more than sufficient to handle all the stresses and burdens of your life. 

These tiny hands are offering you today gifts of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control and hope. 

Will you accept these gifts from Jesus’ hands? Or will you walk away in despair? It’s not too late – if you have walked away in the past from these gifts, Jesus’ hands are still, this moment, offering you these gifts!

Prayer:

Jesus, thank you for the gifts of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control and hope. Help me to share these gifts with the people I work with, my family and my friends. Amen

As you prepare for Christmas may your heart overflow with peace!

James Bruyn