GALATIANS 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

TO PONDER

Happy New Year! What better way to be reminded that Christmas is everyday than this passage from Galatians. I know it sounds a bit "Easter-ish" talking about Christ's death already, only a week after we got busy celebrating his birth, but the two things really do have to go together is we are going to appreciate the fulness of what each of them mean for us on a daily basis.

Christmas is the beginning of the story of God's personal intervention to deal with the problem of our sin and the distance it created between us and Himself. When the apostle Paul writes, "I have been crucified with Christ", he is saying that his own life now means nothing unless it is lived in and for Jesus. This is also true for us. All the New Years resolutions, all the good intentions in the world, all the plans for an early retirement or financial security mean nothing if they are not achieved 'In Christ".

What does "In Christ" really mean, well there are probably as many ways to interpret that phrase as there are people in the world. However, I think that at the very least it means that our life from Christmas onwards finds its meaning only in Christ. In serving Him, loving Him and following Him. It doesn't mean you can't go on that overseas holiday or around the world cruise that you might have organised for this year, but it means taking that trip, looking for ways to live Jesus love and share his hope with the people you encounter while you are away. The meaning is not in the holiday itself, but how Christ is at work in and through you on the holiday.

That's how, in practical terms, Christmas is every day. It's learning to live each day not out of your own plans and strength but out of Christ's plans and his love for you. This is the gift that God freely makes available to us each day. This is what makes Christmas every day. So, how is Christ's presence with you going to inform how you live today and every other day of 2026?

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, Please help me to live and plan for my year out of the life you have given me in Christ Jesus. Help me to live not for myself, but so that others might come to know you and see you at work in and through my life. Amen

Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle