Infinitum Family Advent, Week 3Намуна

We are all connected. Everybody. No matter how rich or poor, no matter what language you speak, or your gender, no matter how close you live to someone or how far away, etc… No matter how many ways you can describe how we are all different, it is still true that we all share the same connection.

We obviously can’t SEE that connection; it’s not like we’re tied together with a rope! But even if we can’t see it, it doesn’t mean it’s not there! In fact, we are so connected that even when we see something bad happen to someone else, we FEEL bad about it (even though it didn’t happen to us!). But it’s also true when something good happens—have you ever tried not to laugh when someone else is giggling like crazy?!? THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE!!!

God designed us that way. Just like He put a small piece of Himself in every person, He made this invisible link between us humans. It’s actually a pretty brilliant idea - what better way to encourage us to be kind to each other and treat each other well?!?

Jesus said, “If you cling to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for Me, you will find it.” That’s a mind-bender. First off… can you think of ways we might hold on tight to our lives? Go ahead, give it a shot to come up with some ways. …pausing… Maybe it’s being protective of the things we own, being really upset when things don’t go how we expected them to go, or wanting to spend all of our being-awake hours on only things that serve us & make us happy.

Jesus says that if we live that way, it’s no life at all. He says life (real LIFE) starts to happen when we start living in ways that match His way of viewing the world. But this is not just to make Him happy—remember how He told us what we do for other people is like we’re doing it for Him?!? When we start paying less attention to what we can get out of each moment and more attention to how we can give this moment to someone else, that’s when LIFE starts to really get good… for US! We are all connected, so as you and I invest in each other (which is investing in the things that Jesus values most), we both are experiencing LIFE.

So let’s try this idea on for size. What does it look like to think more for others than ourselves? Let’s begin by naming three things you want to happen this Christmas. Got them? I’ll bet they’re awesome. Now, list six things you want to happen for other people this Christmas (don’t be afraid to dream big and even dream for people far away you don’t know personally!) Looking out for other people's wants and needs doesn’t take away from your own happy wishes. But you just practiced one small way of being more interested in others than you are in yourself!