Christmas isn’t for one day only!

‘For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, “Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!”’ Luke 18.4-5

In many ways this is a very strange parable! God seems to be compared to an unjust judge who doesn’t really care about others and only dispenses justice in order to get some peace in his own life. However, Jesus is not actually saying that God is like this, but rather that there is a real power in persistence. If it can even move an unjust judge, then how much more will it touch the heart of the Father who loves us?

There is something about Christmas that moves us to pray. Perhaps it is a heightened focus on the needs of others, or maybe the sheer possibility of what could happen if this story about God coming to earth was really true. What difference could it really make to us, our families and those whose plight touches us?

The call is to persist in prayer. Hold on to the truth of the Christmas story that you will hear over the coming days, but rather than simply focussing on its truth for one day only, persist in the truth that this story offers. God did not come to earth for one day only, but for every day; for those days when the tinsel, trees and manger scenes are exciting, as well as for the days when you feel barren and overwhelmed. Jesus has still come; he is still here and he is with you right now.

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