Last Friday night, our church hosted for a second year the Christmas celebration for the local ministry Fostering Hope. Our missions committee and many volunteers served a delicious meal to the numerous foster families in our area. Each family heard the gospel through the Christmas narrative and each child received several nice Christmas gifts. Lynn and I were especially blessed to greet these families as they entered our Ministry Center. On several occasions little foster children would approach me with arms outstretched desiring some affection. I leaned over and down to express love to them as they hugged my knees.
Church family, this moved my heart! Here were these little children who have for one reason or another been removed for a season from their parents. They’ve been graciously taken in by foster parents who are doing their best to provide a loving and safe home for them. Friday night, they knew they were coming to a special Christmas dinner and celebration. Then, upon entering our church building, they were giving and receiving love with someone they did not know.
This reminded me how every person, created in God’s image, longs for love from early on in his or her life. We are all ‘hard-wired’ by our Creator for love. And, we should experience it first in our family of origin. Some have and some have not. Those of us who know the love of Christ personally must express His love regularly and liberally to one another and especially to those devoid of it. I’m so thankful for the opportunity our church had to show Jesus’ love to these foster families and foster children. This was truly a Christmas blessing for me!
Love Himself came in the flesh that first Christmas in Bethlehem. May His love abound in and through all of us so that Headland may ‘behold Him’ in us. I look forward to a special and loving Christmas Eve service with you and your loved ones this coming Sunday night, December 24th, at 5:00 PM.
Cecil Sanders
For God so LOVED the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son... (John 3:16)