Devotions

“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.
Romans 8:16 NKJV

“It’s not Christmas time, is it?” My grandson gave me a puzzled look as we made our way to the mailbox. He stopped to check the corners of the envelopes in his hand.

“No, it’s not,” I responded. “Why do ask?”

“It seems kind of funny to me, that you put stamps on letters that have a picture of baby Jesus, when it’s not Christmas.”

“What does that make you think about?” I recalled my brief career as a stamp collector and waited for a response. The different printed scenes would catch my attention and make me wonder what each stamp was about.

I opened the mailbox door and he slid the envelopes inside. There was one Christmas season, when I was shocked to see a cancellation mark with the Grinch. Where had “the reason for the season” gone, I sadly pondered in my heart.

I use religious stamps for the holiday season. Through disappointing experience, I learned to buy those stamps early, or they could be sold out. One year, I had holiday stamps left over and placed them in the back of my address book.

Sometime during the next year, the Christmas stamps fell out of the book while I looked for an address. I found myself looking into the face of the swaddled child as his mother gazed at him. I thought about the amazing gift of the birth, life, death and resurrection of the Savior.

“The reason I use Christmas stamps all year long, is to give other people the opportunity to think about the life of Jesus and the gift He gave to us. As you asked me a question, I hope that others will do the same thing when they see a stamp with the Christ Child.”

“Wow, can I take another look at those stamps?” Together we gazed at the picture.

Can you think of a typical activity that may show Christ to others? Keep your eyes open as you go about your day and look for an opportunity to cause others to take a second look.