Today, we put up the Family Christmas Tree. It’s an annual post-Thanksgiving tradition going back as far as I can remember. I have a feeling quite a few of those ornaments on the tree go back that far.

Some of those ornaments have seen better days. Some probably should have been retired a long time ago. Some are barely held together and look like they were assembled for a 4-year old’s craft project. Some probably were.

But when you put them all together on the tree with all the lights and tinsel, they look glorious.

That’s the same with God’s people. A lot of us look beat up and bedraggled. Some definitely have seen our better days. From a worldly perspective, many of us probably should have been retired or given up on a long time ago.

Yet something equally glorious happens when we gather together for one purpose as God’s people. Suddenly, we’re beautiful. For then we reflect the image and glory of our God and Lord and Head, Jesus Christ. In fact, we’re much stronger together than we ever could be separately. Truly, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts because the glue that holds us together is the Holy Spirit of God.

That’s how the Church of God is supposed to look. Everyone has a part. Everyone has a purpose. Everyone belongs. Everyone know that it’s not about them but about serving Jesus not just within the church walls but everywhere we go under the banner of the people and family of God.

I guess that’s why I like the old family Christmas tree so much. If all the broken and bedraggled ornaments can have a place, then so can I.