Daily Devotions
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11
As presented on *The Lutheran Hour® by Dr. Walter A. Maier, 1937
These words of the Gospel of Luke express the two sacred, eternal, glorious central truths of the Christmas tidings. Deny one, and you have removed the granite blocks upon which the temple of our faith rests. Deny the other, and you have destroyed the girders that strengthen its towering structure. A Savior has been born for you, and He is Christ the Lord.
If you are the man or woman who has never done anything, said anything, or thought anything that dishonors or distresses your God, injures your fellow men or yourself; if you are a paragon of perfection whose hands have always been active in behalf of truth and justice and faith, whose heart has always beat in measured sympathy with your unfortunate brothers; if your mind has always dwelt on the pure, the clean, the noble, then turn off your radio! You do not need my message! You do not need Christmas!
I am not arguing that you need a Savior. You know your own life better than I do. The voice of Scripture, with its multiplied pronouncements on the depravity of the human race, has placed this tragic truth above the possibility of debate: we are all sinners! I am simply bringing you the plain truth that Christmas, with its heart-warming appeal and its soul-lifting promise, asks us not to surrender to the folly and blindness of striving for our own peace and pardon, but to believe, with all the radiance and rejoicing of this blessed day, that “in the city of David, a Savior” was born.
Prayer: O Christ of Bethlehem, we come to You in faith, with all the transgression and selfishness in our lives, and under the radiance of the Christmas faith find pardon, peace, and rest in Your heavenly grace. Amen.
Taken from A Message of Hope: Proclaiming the Promise (selections from messages broadcast on *The Lutheran Hour, celebrating 75 years of proclaiming the promise).
Copyright © 2005 by Lutheran Hour Ministries
*The Lutheran Hour is the longest-running Christian radio broadcast in the world. It is a production of Lutheran Hour Ministries. For more information, visit www.lutheranhour.org.