Kids Bible Devotional for December 24, 2024
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Focus Verse
1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. (KJV)
Jump Start
"I foresee in this," Tom’s uncle says, "the breaking up of our profession. Any low fellow can light a gas-lamp. And it's all up."
We opened with an excerpt from Charles Dickens’ short story “The Lamplighter” published in 1868, which is inspiration for today’s devotion. Of course, Dickens is most famous for his story A Christmas Carol, a tale about redemption through the Christmas spirit. In the story, Scrooge has a change of heart after the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future shed light on the sad state of his life due to his own apathy and greed.
Sometimes, that’s all it takes. Someone sheds a little light on the course of one’s life that has them repent. Turn back. Take a different path. Hopefully one that takes them to Jesus Christ. In a sense, that’s what we do through our testimony. We are God’s light bearers, illuminating a better way to redemption for others to see.
Today's Devotion
Lucy could hardly contain her enthusiasm when her father asked her to join him on a business trip to London. Though nervous to fly, the time quickly passed. When they arrived, her dad hailed a cab.
“Westminster Abbey, please,” Dad instructed the driver. In the car, he leaned toward Lucy. “There’s something I want to show you.”
A few minutes later, the driver pulled up to a street in front of the famed cathedral that hosted the coronations of England’s kings and queens for nearly a millennium. Dusk began to set, washing the old church in an orange glow.
Her father pointed to a man resting a ladder against one the street lamps. “That man is lighting one of the few remaining gas lights left in London,” explained Dad.
“They still use gas to light the streetlamps?” Lucy asked.
“Only for about 1500 lights in the city. Quite unlike the nineteenth century, when it took hundreds of lamplighters like this man to do this job.”
“Nineteenth century,” Lucy echoed. “Like around the time of Charles Dickens?”
“That’s right. In fact, Dickens wrote a story called ‘The Lamplighter’ which portrays the life of one of these men. Some say, at one point London was the brightest city in the world.”
As the darkness set in, the lamps glowed more brightly.
“It’s so beautiful,” Lucy said. “What was it like to be a lamplighter?”
“These were very special people. They were once considered watchmen who acted as sorts of policemen. Because of the nature of their work, they could keep an eye out for crime. For this reason, they were deemed a trustworthy bunch.”
“I’m glad we have electricity now, but it’s too bad this tradition died out,” Lucy said.
“Maybe for these lamplighters, but in way, it still continues.
“There are other lamplighters?” Lucy asked.
“In a spiritual sense, Christians serve much the same function as this coveted role. We spread the light of Jesus to this dark world. We are watchers, seeking to protect men’s soul to the glory of God.”
“Lucy the Lord’s Lamplighter. I kind of like that. We should get special outfits like these men.”
“We do. It’s called the Armor of God,” Dad said. “But that’s a lesson for another day.”
Wrap Up
In John 8:12, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” Jesus is not only our light, but He gives us light to push back the darkness. In I Thessalonians 5:5, Paul calls us “children of the light.” Being a light to this dark world is in our spiritual DNA.
You were made to shine. The Spirit of God that burns inside of you makes you a beacon for others to find safe harbor from the storms of this life.
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