Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

This devotion pairs with this weekend's Lutheran Hour sermon, which can be found at lhm.org.

Do you ever wonder why you were born? Maybe life has been hard for you—harder, it seems, than it is for most people. Perhaps there is domestic strife in your household or you are far from family and close friends. Maybe the bills are piling up, and life has become this endless struggle—not to get ahead but simply to keep your head above water.

In all of these life circumstances—difficult as they may be—there is a power to say, "I'm glad I was born," and that power comes from Jesus Christ. Our Savior became a Child on our behalf. He knew the world He was going to be born into, and He knew why He had to become like us. It was God's rescue mission: to free us from all the sin and the sorrow that fill our hearts with despair.

It was only by Jesus being born that this rescue could take place. As Jesus Himself says in the Gospel of John, "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36). In Him we find truth; we find peace; we find hope for ourselves in this life and the assurance of eternity with God in the next.

Can you see it? The Child who wanted to be born can make you glad to be alive! There's joy in living when you hear His story. In many ways, Jesus was like the rest of us on earth. He grew up. He ate and drank. He worked and rested. And though He was human, He was the sinless Son of God. And as God's beloved Son He went to the cross for you and me. And there He took the full weight of our sin.

And that's why we love Jesus, because He first loved us (see 1 John 4:19). It can be hard at times in this world, that's for sure. But we know that Christ came to be with us throughout our lives and in all our struggles. He tells us, "I am the Good Shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep" (John 10:14-15).

So if you wonder why you were born, remember that the birth of Jesus gives meaning to your life. Go after the joy of living that Jesus alone can give. You don't have to make a special pilgrimage to find Him. He meets you in His Word, the living truth we find in the Bible. That's where we learn why He came: to save us (see Luke 19:10; 1 Timothy 1:15; John 3:16-17) and why He will come again: to take us to be with him and to judge the world in righteousness (see John 14:3; 1 Corinthians 15:52; Acts 17:31).

You were born to be with Jesus, who told us, "I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).

WE PRAY: Heavenly Father, please comfort us when life is difficult. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.

This Daily Devotion is based on the sermon, "The Child Glad to Be Born," by Rev. Dr. Dale Meyer, Speaker Emeritus for The Lutheran Hour.

Reflection Questions:

1. Life in this world can be difficult. How does Jesus' birth give us meaning and hope in hard times?

2. How can reflecting on the joy of Christmas—even in August—bring us peace in our suffering?

3. Instead of us having to find God, how did He come to us in Jesus?

Today's Bible Readings: 1 Chronicles 16    Psalms 42,44    1 Corinthians 10:1-18

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