God's catalog

By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. — John 13:35

Tis the season to receive catalogs in the mail. Every trip to the mailbox ends with an armload of slick holiday catalogs. Each one claims to offer me something I need — immediately. “Don’t wait!” “Limited offer!” “Order now!”

The lure works. I open the pages to discover what I didn’t know I needed. Sure enough, I see things that suddenly seem essential, even though a few minutes earlier I didn’t know they existed. Manufacturers use catalog illustrations to create desire for their products.

In a way, Christians are God’s catalogs. We are His illustration to the world of what He has to offer. His work in our lives makes us a picture of qualities that people may not know they need or want until they see them at work in us.

Jesus prayed that His followers would be unified so the world would know that God sent Him and loved them as God loved Him (John 17:23). When Christ is alive in us, we become examples of God’s love. We can’t manufacture love. God is the manufacturer, and we are His workmanship.

As you browse holiday catalogs, consider what the “catalog” of your life says about God. Do people see qualities in you that make them long for God?    — Julie Ackerman Link

What does the world see in us

That they can’t live without?

Do they see winsome qualities

And love that reaches out? — Sper

READ: John 17:20-26

As a Christian, you are “God’s advertisement.” Do people want what they see in you?

The Bible in one year:

• Ezekiel 16-18

• Proverbs 12:15-28