men must recognize and accept. No wonder the God-given Teacher repeats these lessons day after day. They are difficult lessons, but they are fundamental.

DIGNITY OF WORK

Christ had come into the world to do the most important task to be done – to deliver us all from the slavery of our sins and to make us sons and daughters of God once more. If He spent the greatest part of His thirty years engaged in ordinary everyday work, He teaches you and me very clearly the value and dignity of our everyday work.

When God created the world, He gave it to us to work and develop. He made us co-workers with Himself. He expects us to uncover the riches He has hidden in the depths of the universe for our use.

With sin, work became a punishment, but with Christ the Worker and Christ the Saviour, work has been restored. Our work has been given a tremendous value and dignity by Christ.

We spend the greater part of our day and of our lives working. We must never think that our journey to God and our daily work are different things. We can only find our way to God in our work. By work, I support my family, I cooperate with God in growing crops for others, in manufacturing or selling goods for others, in doing the office work necessary for making the modern world function smoothly, in teaching others and training them to lead rich and full lives.

With Christ my work shares the purpose of His work. He is the Saviour of the world, the one who delivers all men from slavery; and when I do my work with Him and in Him, I share in His liberating work. I help myself and I serve and help others with Him and though Him.

* * * * * *

In this section we have seen surprising things about Jesus Christ. He was born into the world to liberate mankind from the slavery of sin. But the manner in which He came is not what we would expect. We would not expect the Son of God to be born in such obscurity. We would not expect Him to grow up in the hidden family of an unknown carpenter.

It is time to pause and think a little in silence on these things. Do the events described seem credible? Do they touch me in any way? Do they have the mark of God’s hand upon them or are they only a story thought up and told by men?

I shall ask myself a question in all honesty at this point: Does this story of Christ so far have a message for me in my heart? Can there be a message for me from God in all this?

A PRAYER

Lord, at times when I am more serious I feel that something important is missing in my life.

I do not know what it is.

Perhaps, it is You.