The writer of Hebrews reminds us that worship extends beyond sung praise and spoken prayers. Acts of generosity and kindness are themselves sacrifices that please God—offerings laid on the altar of daily life, worship expressed through hands that serve and hearts that give. In Old Testament times, worshipers brought lambs and grain to the temple as sacrifices; today, our sacrifices look like time invested in someone else's need, resources shared with those who lack, presence offered to those who are lonely. These are not secondary forms of worship but sacrifices that rise like incense to heaven.

This week we have explored the spirit of Christmas through five expressions of Christ's love: cheerful giving even in crisis, compassionate service to the vulnerable, Christlike forgiveness of deep wrongs, supernatural love that identifies believers, and radical hospitality that welcomes strangers. Each one flows from the same source—the overwhelming grace we have received in Jesus Christ. The early Christians gave hilariously during plagues because Christ had given everything. Believers throughout history have served "the least of these" because they saw Christ in disguise. The Charleston families forgave the unforgivable because Christ had first forgiven them. The early church loved sacrificially because they had been loved at infinite cost. Generations of believers have opened their homes because heaven's door had been opened to them. Every sacrifice of love, every act of service, every gesture of generosity becomes worship when offered in response to Emmanuel's gift. The carol we sing with our lives echoes louder than any song our lips can form.

"Christ's followers are to labor as He did. We are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and comfort the suffering and afflicted. We are to minister to the despairing, and inspire hope in the hopeless." (Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, p. 104)

Prayer: Heavenly Father, accept our lives as living sacrifices. Let every act of kindness, every word of love, every sacrifice of service rise before You as fragrant worship. May the spirit of Christmas fill us all year long. Amen.