1 Peter 2:24 – He personally bore our sins in His [own] body on the tree [as on an altar and offered Himself on it] that we might die (cease to exist) to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. (AMP)

It has been said that Queen Victoria of England greatly loved her prince, Albert of Germany. She stuck beside him when the country reviled him for bringing a "heathenish" decorated tree to the Christmas celebrations.

Even now, some people consider the Christmas tree to be an unnecessary part of the holiday. The rest of us decorate our trees with every kind of bauble known to man. Magazines glisten with theme trees of every colour, decorated with everything from mice to beer cans.

Our family tree is the old-fashioned green kind. Its theme is love. Covered with memories of holidays past, it glows with tiny childhood mementos — our children's, our parents', and ours. Since I collect tiny nativity scenes, there are several of those on our tree as well.

At Christmas, we all like to spend much time dwelling on Jesus' birth. It's about a baby! It's sweet, warm, and fuzzy. But the Christmas tree is there to remind us of the Good Friday tree. Jesus bore our sins on that tree so that we might stop sinning. What did you hang on His Christmas tree this year? Maybe it was selfishness, jealousy, swearing, or gluttony. Let's leave it there.

Prayer: Lord God, thank You for the Jesus tree. Without it, we could never be all You want us to be. Help us to hang the worst of ourselves on it, forever. In grateful thanks to Your Son, Jesus, we pray. Amen.

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About the author:

Brenda Wood <brenda.w@nextcom.ca>
Sandycove Acres, Innisfil, Ontario, Canada
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