Advent Reflection: 18th December - Emily Owen

Every day this Advent we will be sharing reflections from Christian authors. Today's is by Emily Owen.

May I Take This Opportunity

‘May I take this opportunity to wish you a happy and peaceful Christmas.’

So ended an email I received.

At the beginning of November.

The earliest I’ve ever been sent Christmas wishes.

I thought ‘that’s a bit early!’

Nice, but early.

Then the beginning of the sentence caught my eye.

May I take this opportunity….

The email was from someone I’m rarely in contact with.

We’re unlikely to be in contact again before the New Year.

There would probably not really be another chance to offer Christmas greetings.

No other chance to be together,

in however small a way,

over the Christmas season.

May I take this opportunity….

What opportunities could we take to be together with people this Christmas time?

A smile at a stranger.

A card for a neighbour.

Kindness.

May I take this opportunity….?

You certainly may.

Will you?

May I take this opportunity….?

The stable is dark.

The straw is itchy.

The woman groans.

And Jesus is born.

He took the opportunity.

Opportunity to be born into a broken world.

Because He wanted to be together.

Together with the hurting,

with the joyful,

with the rejected,

with the successful,

with the lonely.

To be together

with you.

Jesus took the opportunity.

The opportunity to be the very first

Christmas present.

Sent to a broken, suffering world,

‘with love from God’.

(Isaiah 9)

For to us a child is born

Taking the opportunity.

His name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor

Gifting us a bridge.

A bridge between mankind and a holy God.

Bringing us together.

His name shall be called Mighty God

Gifting us access to the infinite God.

To the One who longs to breathe His energy into

every part of our lives.

His name shall be called Everlasting Father

Gifting us total security in Him.

An eternal together-relationship:

Experiencing the fatherhood of God.

His name shall be called Prince of Peace

Gifting us inner serenity. The certainty that,

when things seem too much (and when they don’t),

God stands with us.

Every moment.

His name shall be called Immanuel

The gift of ‘God with us’.

Jesus.

May I take this opportunity to wish you a happy and peaceful Christmas.

The Power of Seven by Emily Owen: An imaginative and gently challenging series of forty-nine reflections on seven biblical themes, from creation to the churches of Revelation, written in Emily Owen's unique interactive style. In this inspirational devotional, Emily Owen weaves together biblical reflections, prayer, personal stories, with a creative 'voice' of God, which all gently steer the reader into a closer walk with Jesus. The Power of Seven encourages us to look afresh at some of the themes of seven in the Bible. Creation, who God is, God as shepherd, the 'I AM's of the Bible, the last words of Jesus from the cross, and what we add to our faith (Goodness, Perseverance etc) are examined, with the book ending with a powerful section on Jesus speaking to the Revelation churches, beautifully and sensitively written in a fresh and engaging way.

Click here to find out more!