“And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and in every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ...” --Phil. 1: 9-10
What does it mean to discern what is of value? In a way, is that not what the season of Advent is about? When all is said and done, what really matters in life? It’s ironic that in the most affluent country on earth, people easily lose sight of the things that really matter. We can get so caught up in worries and problems, hopes and fears, that we take for granted the gifts we rely on every day: health, family, friends, and faith--to name but a few. When we take these gifts for granted, our priorities go askew. Particularly during this season, we can become so distracted by all the myriad of things that need to be done and the things that money can buy. Patience and tempers grow short. Our minds and attention are scattered. We fell pressured in so many ways by so many things. It’s no wonder that automobile accidents spike during this season, as do family disturbances, suicides, and other tragedies.
We would do well to remember, as a MasterCard commercial so aptly relates, that some things in life are priceless. Some things are of such great value that all the wealth in the world cannot purchase them. Have you ever found yourself realizing that the thing you most wanted was something money could not buy? It is a gift and a grace to find ourselves in such a position. Our hungry hearts will not be satisfied by the things that money can buy. Our hearts can only be satisfied by things of true and lasting value: an expression of gratitude, an email or a letter from a loved one, a smile on the face of a child, an expression of forgiveness. It is love that sees and discerns the true value in life. And it is Love and Forgivenness, come down to us in the form of a child, that genuinely satisfies the hungry heart.
Blessed second week of Advent!
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