Stephen spoke tonight at our new family service, armed with a very large teddy bear…
He spoke about how, as children, we often like having the comfort of a teddy bear at night when it is dark: ‘When Teddy’s there, I don’t feel scared any more; I feel peaceful.’ A teddy bear can be a comfort: ‘Teddy to the rescue!’
In the same way, God has provided us with a source of comfort (and rescue) in the person of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, whose name (according to Matthew 1:23) is also ‘Immanuel’ – ‘God with us.’ When Jesus is with us, we don’t have to be afraid… of bugs, spiders, snakes, the dentist, doctor or anything else, for Jesus promised His followers peace: ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.’ (John 14:27)
When Jesus returned to heaven, He asked His Father to send a gift, the gift of His Holy Spirit to be with us always and whose peace can bring comfort and strength to us in every situation. Peace is a very precious Advent gift that can last far longer than the four weeks leading up to Christmas!
We can thank God for Jesus and for the Holy Spirit, for the gift of peace which guides us and calms our fears. To help the children remember this, they were all given their own teddy bears!