Have you ever received a gift that was a complete surprise? Maybe it was something you had hoped for but never expected to receive. Maybe it was something you were expecting but it came from a different person in an unexpected way. Or perhaps it was something you never knew about until it arrived, but it turned out to be wonderful.

More than 2,000 years ago, the world received a gift that many did not expect and that countless others missed completely. A baby was born in an obscure village, in a place unknown to most of the world. Not in a palace, not with royal fanfare, but in a humble manger. The Creator of the universe chose to enter His creation through the back door of history.

I sometimes wonder about the choir of angels that sang to the shepherds on that hillside on the night of Christ's birth. Were the shepherds truly the only ones who heard and responded to that glorious chorus? Did others in and around Bethlehem hear the noise and simply turn over and go back to sleep? Were there people who should have known but simply missed it because they weren't paying attention?

The birth of Jesus is no longer a surprise to us today. Yet it remains the perfect symbol of how God often deals with His people. Throughout the Scriptures, we find again and again that God's gifts come as surprises. They are not what we expect. They do not arrive in the way we anticipate. They are often not even things we have thought to ask for. Like the manger-bed of Jesus, God's greatest gifts often come wrapped in the most humble packaging.

Our Father, as we celebrate this Christmas, help us remain open to the surprise gifts You have in store for each of us. Let us remember that the greatest gift of all, the birth of Jesus Christ, came as a surprise to the world. Help us not miss that gift or the many other gifts You give to us. Keep our hearts alert and our spirits sensitive to Your presence, even in unexpected places. Amen.

This devotional was written by Jim Stovall and read by Sage Jonas.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

The word “love” just might be the most overused word in the English-speaking world. We love our families, and we love pizza. We love our friends, and we love certain books, movies and songs. We love one another and we love baseball or football. . .and so on and on. The English language presents many difficulties in communicating clearly, and this lack of differentiation in the use of the word love for different feelings and situations is certainly one of its biggest challenges.

We really cannot compare God’s love, displayed in the sacrifice of his Son for the salvation of the world, to how we feel about pizza, or even an adored spouse or child. We need different words to describe and understand the agape love of the Bible, the unconditional, selfless, and sacrificial love that God shows to us and that we are to show to others.

Christina Rossetti, 19th century English poet, expresses the wonder of God’s agape love in the person of Jesus Christ in a three-verse hymn written in 1885.

Our Christian faith is based on believing that at the center of the universe is God, overflowing with love for His world. The purpose of human existence then is to receive this love that has come to us through Jesus and then to give it back out to others. Christian love is others-focused, self-giving love, and that is agape love. It begins with Jesus’ birth at Christmas, but it is eternal.

Heavenly father, no matter how hard we try, it is difficult for us to imagine the breadth and depth of God’s love for us. We give you thanks for showing us this love in the life and works of Jesus Christ. May we always seek to be more like Him in all that we say and do.

Amen.

This episode was written by Pat Scruggs and read by Grace Jonas.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

I was on a weekend getaway driving through a trendy downtown area filled with coffee shops, restaurants, and breweries when I looked at a business and saw it was called Agape (uh-gāp). My first reading was the adjective with a long A (uh-gāp), and I thought what a weird name for a business. Then I read the second line of the sign and realized it was a health clinic-Oh!- agape (a-gáp-ē) the Greek for love. It made me wonder how often that caused confusion. It made me consider how easy or hard it is to recognize agape—God’s Love.

Agape: the love of God that is shared with all. A kind of love that means thinking of others, putting others first, serving others, sharing, and empathizing.

Mother Teresa, now known as Saint Teresa of Calcutta, is quoted as saying, "Prayer in action is love, love in action is service."

Does this seem like a paradox? Does prayer seem the opposite of action? Sometimes I think paradox is the reaction of viewing reality but realizing we haven’t been seeing what is really there.

Prayer is the act of expressing our hope. To bring hope into life, one must have faith that it will do good and then act to bring it to life. So let us pray that our actions will be filled with love.

The infinite love of God is shared with me and with all: every breath, every sip of water, every cell in my body, every moment in time, every leaf on every tree, every past, every future. All. I struggle to comprehend, let alone express, what God has shared with me. To return God’s love is to share it. To share in it. To give and to accept. To accept and to give.

Prayer gives me a quiet moment to think about this. To thank God for this. To be overwhelmed by this. To hope that in some small way I may share this.

Whether your action is big or small, it is action. Make it an act of love by thinking of others. Spread the agape!

Dear Lord of All, may we see your glory in everything. May we have the strength to see the things that we think are wrong and accept that we do not see well enough to know. Love us when we do not know what your plan holds for us or those around us. May we have the strength to turn our prayers into action. May we have the strength to share your love. Bless us in our efforts, and amen.

This episode was written by Jill Pope and read by Greta Smith.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.