Just today I received an email from a friend who was traveling in the Philippines over the past couple of weeks. To see the devastation in that nation from a typhoon that hit the mainland about six weeks ago was pretty incredible.
Many of the photos that this person shared were very "graphic" in that they didn't filter out the depths of the human suffering that was involved and the amount of loss that many people experienced.
In this season, when we're so focused on our blessings (which we should be!) and all the joys of life, it was a healthy reminder for me to realize that so much of the world has so little compared to what God has given us.
This immediately raised my "attitude of gratitude" to another level and reminded me that some of the personal challenges I've been facing lately are nothing compared to what much of the world has to face on a daily basis.
It also reminds me that I want to give as much as I can to the mission of our church and to those specific places where I know my resources are going to make a difference in the lives of people who need it.
Most of all, I refuse to be caught up in the temptation to "overindulge" myself or my family this Christmas season. Jesus came to the earth to give himself for us as a sin sacrifice that would change our lives forever.
The least we can do in this Christmas season is to give something of what we've been blessed with to help others alleviate their suffering and perhaps find redemption as well.
Have a blessed day,
Dr. Jay
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