a Christmas Invitation to Slow Down 2023 Family Devotional
a Christmas Invitation to Slow Down We all feel it this time of year – the world squeezing us toward ever greater speed, to continual and relentless hurry. The holiday season often feels like a time of haste — so many tasks, events, and obligations cramming our calendars. The to-do lists feel endless. In all the busyness, we can lose sight of what really matters. That’s especially true when we’re seeking not just our own interests but also those of others: from the foster youth or struggling family across town to the orphaned child on the other side of the world. So much need. So much urgency. And yet, we know deep down that hurry is not good. It corrodes all that is best: intimacy and joy, connection and calm. Hurry eats them like acid. Here is the simple truth: We cannot live the life God desires for us when dominated by a spirit of hurry.
Living Unhurried Marvelously, Jesus faced all the urgency we face, yet never gave hurry the final word. He faced crowd after crowd, need upon need, yet gave himself entirely to the one situation, the single person before him. I believe he invites us to do the same. He invites us to live un-hurried. But where do we even begin? Certainly, this does not mean avoiding hard work. We’re called to pour ourselves out daily. Jesus himself sometimes got so tired he could fall asleep in a storm-tossed boat. Yet in pouring out, we need not hurry. In fact, we must not hurry if we are to reflect his attentive presence, his focused care, his tender love. Jesus gives a clue how we might do that in his words to Martha. She was overwhelmed by urgency and tasks, much like we often are. She complained because her sister wasn’t multitasking to help out. “Martha, Martha,” Jesus said, “You are worried and upset about many things. But only one thing is necessary.”
He invites us to live as his apprentices...
Not many things. One thing. I don’t think he meant, “Never do anything but sit at my feet.” Jesus himself worked and walked and served and slept and a hundred other things. But in each moment of life, Jesus gave himself fully to the one thing necessary. He engaged the one task, the one person before him: blind Bartimaeus, a bleeding woman, Zacchaeus up in the sycamore, children in need of blessing, a thief on a cross. 2
He invites us to live as his apprentices in this — asking God in each moment, as he did, “What is this moment for?” Whatever the answer, we must simply give ourselves fully to that one thing in that moment … and then to the next … then the next. That is what unhurried looks like. It is the light yoke — free, calm, fully present, even if surrounded by chaos.
Unwrapping His Presence As we reflect on the miracle of Jesus’ birth this Christmas season, how can we accept His invitation to slow down? In the midst of the holiday bustle, we can pause to ask God, “What is this moment for?” Then, we can simply give ourselves to that one thing — listening to our child’s excitement, singing beloved carols, passing the manger set gently between our hands, serving a person in need. We need not feel guilty in this focus, or antsy about all that we’re not doing. Our good Father invites us to this way of living. And Jesus’ birth reminds us that God meets us in the present, in the most ordinary of moments. He is Immanuel — God with us — and we taste that to be true when we are fully present too. Will you unwrap this gift of His presence this Christmas?
Slowing Down As you reflect on Jesus’ patient, attentive care for others this Christmas season, what’s one way you can intentionally slow down and be fully present to God and people amid the holiday rush? Maybe it’s having a family quiet time each morning to pray, read Scripture, and invite Jesus into your day. Or planning one evening a week that’s kept technologyfree for deeper connection. Or adopting a nursing home resident or a neighbor who’s alone to visit regularly without distraction.
In the birth of Jesus, God proclaims that He is always with us.
On Christmas, we can share what living more unhurried has looked like for each of us. Where have we seen God at work? How has our presence with Him and others deepened? Then together, let’s ask His help to live more fully in His unhurried life in the new year. In the birth of Jesus, God proclaims that He is always with us. This Christmas, let’s receive this matchless gift all the more! 3
Reflection & Discussion for Families • What makes you feel hurried or stressed during the holidays? What is one thing you can let go of or simplify? • How can we be fully present with God and people this Christmas, rather than consumed by our to-do lists? What does that look like practically? • Jesus was able to be fully present, even when facing crowds and urgent needs. How can remembering Immanuel—God with us—help us slow down this Christmas?
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