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His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n 2 Peter 1:3<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n The day after Thanksgiving and the day after Christmas are high volume shopping days.\u00a0 On the day after Thanksgiving people flock to the stores to buy gifts for Christmas and take advantage of \u201cBlack Friday\u201d sales.\u00a0 This kicks off a frenzy that lasts until Christmas to get the right gift at the right price and adds a lot of stress to the season.\u00a0 The day after Christmas is also a day to flock to the stores, the time to return gifts that were not wanted and to get things we really want on sale.\u00a0 There is so much focus on getting gifts, yet once the gifts are received, many are returned because they are not wanted.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In the last reflection, we discussed a line in the prayer that calls on us to love the beauty of God\u2019s house on earth.\u00a0 We are supposed to run to the church often, with the same enthusiasm and expectation that we take to the mall on the day after Thanksgiving.\u00a0 No one who goes out shopping on this day dreads the experience.\u00a0 Those who dread the experience simply don\u2019t go.\u00a0 And in similar fashion, no one should go to the church with a sense of dread, but with the idea that we will like at least something we find there.\u00a0 It might be the artistic beauty in the icons, or the beautiful hymns sung by the choir or the chanters, the sense of order, or the timeless sense of worship we get from celebrating services that are centuries old.\u00a0 While people may run to the mall on one day, we are called to run to the church throughout our lives, and to do it as often as we can.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In the finance world, we hear of a term, ROI, or \u201creturn on investment.\u201d\u00a0 ROI refers to an expectation one can look to when investing.\u00a0 If one invests a thousand dollars in something, what will they get in return?\u00a0 The more ROI, the more confident one is in investing and the more money he or she invests.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Investing our faith, our thought and our life in the things of God will have eternal life in the kingdom of heaven is our ROI.\u00a0 We are not working for tangible return, but intangible. We are not working for temporary reward but eternal.\u00a0 And so, the ROI for those who love the beauty of God\u2019s house, is to be glorified by God, forever.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n We are all familiar with the story of the shepherds on Christmas.\u00a0 They were quietly going about their business watching their sheep, laboring anonymously outside of Bethlehem where a census was occurring.\u00a0 Thousands upon thousands of people had descended on Bethlehem for the occasion and the shepherds were not in their number.\u00a0 Sitting out in the fields on a dark and cold night, all of a sudden the sky lit up with angels.\u00a0 We read in Luke 2:9 that \u201can angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them.\u201d <\/em>Imagine for a moment what that must have looked like, and what it must have felt like.\u00a0 The glory of the Lord\u2014bright, powerful, comforting, awesome in every sense of the word.\u00a0 Now imagine not just seeing the glory of the Lord but being enveloped in it.\u00a0 This is what the Lord has in store for those who love the beauty of His house.\u00a0 Words cannot adequately capture the Lord\u2019s glory, but something great and beyond our comprehension awaits all those who love God.\u00a0 And this state of glory is not something we can claim but something that is bestowed by the grace of God.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Every investment of money is made with some \u201cfaith\u201d because just about every investment comes with some risk.\u00a0 Our investment in God is also made with faith, because the reward is not fully known, nor is the cost.\u00a0 If everything is known, then there is no need for faith.\u00a0 Faith is investing ourselves in what is not fully known but believed.\u00a0 And the belief is not a blind belief.\u00a0 We believe based on the experiences of others as well as our own experience.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n God\u2019s promised gift to those who invest faith in Him is to share in His glory.\u00a0 We have to ask ourselves, is this a gift we want to invest in? We should run to God with the same fervor that many will run to the mall with the day after Thanksgiving.\u00a0 On Christmas, we open our gifts with some sense of comfort that we can return them if we don\u2019t want them.\u00a0 The gift of God is precious, to be enjoyed forever, not to be returned.\u00a0 It is not a gift we will want to return, but experience forever. God has revealed His gift to us, in the sense He has told us that it will be to share in His glory.\u00a0 Faith is what keeps us putting one foot in front of the other in our lives until we reach the day we will open the gift.\u00a0 Thankfully, God has put some markers along the way to inspire and encourage us to and to give us glimpses of His glory.\u00a0 And many of those markers are found in His holy temple, in worship, and in receiving Him.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n O Lord, bless those who praise You and sanctify those who put their trust in You.\u00a0 Save Your people and bless Your inheritance. Protect the whole body of Your Church. Sanctify those who love the beauty of Your house. Glorify them in return by Your divine power, and do not forsake us who place our hope in You. Grant peace to Your world, to Your churches, to the clergy, to those in public service, to the armed forces, and to all Your people. For every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from You, the Father of Lights and to You we send up glory, and thanksgiving, and worship, to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. <\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Keep investing with confidence that there is an intangible and eternal return on it!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n