"When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him." Luke 2:39-40

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14

I find it curious, Lord, that Your living son Jesus was doused with grace, and filled up with grace, but yet never spoke the word grace in all his recorded statements (that I have found)! Perhaps it wasn't needed. Maybe when a humble person heard him speak, they came away with an understanding that they just heard Charis Himself... On the other hand, Paul uses "grace" what seems like a million times - maybe because he was so keenly aware of how gracious You had been to him, forgiving him for his persecution of the early church. How affected by grace am I? Probably not as much as I should be, if I had a better understanding of just how sinful I am and just how Holy You are.

Am I growing in grace? Am I growing in truth? It seems like I am, however slowly. When I cook, I tend to use a lot of honey. When I eat, I like salty taste. I like the idea that around the dinner table, as we're ingesting honey and salt, You are seasoning what comes out of our mouths with grace and truth. What a cook You must be, Lord! Listening to the words of Your prophets, seeing the majesty of Your creation, tasting touching hearing smelling the wondrously rich, diverse life that You have freely given us - and that's just with our earthly bodies in a fallen world! I can't wait to experience the sensory overload that Heaven must be to our perfect bodies in our perfect new world!

As I go about my day today, in several social environments, may You infuse my words with Yourself. Perhaps that's the wrong way to think about it. But whether You bestow Yourself upon me like a blanket, or like a Holy virus, or like speed to a trained athlete, I NEED more of You!!!

But maybe that's a wrong perspective as well. The work You have for me to do is not the focus. My focus is You. Do I need more of You to love You more? YES! I am not primarily serving others, but serving You through my service. Show me, reveal to me how I can look upon others as if it were Jesus on earth. Change my eyes so that I can see, my ears that I can hear, my mind that I can understand, my heart that I can give and receive Your love. Show me what activities I can do in my body that enable those changes to occur that I cannot directly acquire through my own effort.

Most of all, Lord, I want to know You and love You more and more and more! Amen!