If you are alive and breathing as you read this, you have a history in the making day by day. Your history, or your “story”, isn’t like anyone else’s story. We are created with certain tendencies because of the genetic mix from our parents. Our life circumstances play a huge role in shaping how we think, behave and respond to outside interferences in life.

Some of us were taken to church every time the doors were open. Some of us were taken only on special occasions. Some of us had parent who devoted themselves to church work and some of us did not. Some of us grew up in very strict, ritualistic religions, some of us were not. Some of us had both parents growing up, some of didn’t. Some of us experienced death of a close loved one early in life and some of us didn’t know what that meant until later in life when we were more mature to handle it. Some of us grew up in loving, nurturing homes and some of us were beaten to a pulp when an alcoholic and drug induced parent was in a “bad mood”. Some of us grew up having enough and some of didn’t but we didn’t know it until we were told were “poor”. We all have a history…a story.

ALL of us were born naked, into a broken world. We were all born with a hole in our hearts. That empty hole, that dark place in our souls can only be filled with Jesus Christ. Our history should not define us, but sometimes we allow it to govern us…until Jesus enters our lives. Jesus fills all the emptiness. HE becomes our new story, our new history of hope in the every day. He becomes our joy in circumstances that are out of our control. He becomes our strength and tenacity through the storms. Most of all HE can transform us to be more accepting of others in our church, our workplaces, our families, and among our friends, because He accepted us.

This Jesus, whom the angels stand ready to serve, who sits on the throne of the Most High, the KING of kings and LORD of lords, loves each one of us, unconditionally, no matter what our history.

So when we kneel side by side each other, just like the wise men knelt beside the lowly shepherds that holy night, let us kneel and focus first on the ONE who loves us most, let His love sink in and saturate our hearts and souls so our minds will be less judgmental.

Allow God to define us today in a whole new light–HIS Light. We will see things differently. We will see each other differently if we do.

In Jesus Name and by His Power living in us, Amen.