ADVENT ... Center

Luke 21:34Be on guard so that your hearts are not weight down with the worries of life.

Every day I realize that Christ must be the very center of my life. There are a thousand things that scream for my attention today. Every day! And for the most part, I love everything I’m called to do. However, in my inner life, everything must center around Jesus. In fact, all the different pieces of life are held together by and around Christ.Every moment I realize that I can not simply speak about Jesus but that I must allow Him to speak within me. I must move from thinking about Jesus to letting his thoughts be in me. I can not go through my day acting for and with my Lord, I must surrender my self so that He can act and live through me.Only when I look with his eyes, hear with his ears do I get a glimpse of the true value of my fellow man. Only then do I begin to reach those around me with the love that He came to give. All the confusion and chaos lose its influence when I allow the simplicity of His presence to be birthed and appreciated in my life.Advent calls me to awaken to the moment in history — and this moment — that truly centers all of creation. That moment when heaven and earth meet. That moment when God’s Word became flesh, where God and man were revealed as One. This moment when I give my full attention back to the child that was born, to the King who has come, to the calling on my life to love others, this moment is all that matters.Christmas centers me!Christmas brings everything back into focus!Christmas brings clarity!If I bring myself back to the manger, I find the Savior smiling! We live in that smile, that love, that peace.All worries are removed in this moment.