How many of you parents have said to your kids, “Christmas isn’t about receiving, it’s about giving?” It can be hard, though, when everything on TV and the internet says, ask for more, more, more! Even adults get into this mindset. Christmas is all about us. We want to have the perfect storybook Christmas, where we make all of the cookies we love and do all of the events we want to do. Christmas becomes about us doing what we want, instead of remembering that Christ has always asked us to “take up our crosses and follow Him.” While that verse reminds us of Easter, not Christmas, the life of a Christian always has both in mind: the cradle and the cross. So, even at Christmas, we can be looking for ways to give of ourselves and our time – because that is what Jesus would have us do. He did that Himself, didn’t He? Remembering the cross at Christmas might mean, for some of us, spending Christmas day at a local soup kitchen or with elderly people who no longer have families. It might mean setting up the chairs for Christmas Eve service, and staying long after to clean up. It might mean inviting someone who is alone this Christmas to dinner. And here’s the best part: we will be blessed as we bless others. As we share the light of Christ with them, we will feel the light of Christ become brighter and stronger in our own hearts! What world-changing work Jesus has called us to do! This is Luis Palau.