We are not the sum total of our possessions and accomplishments. Nor are we the sum total of our faults and failures. And yet, we often live as if that’s the case. We believe our worth and our value comes from what we have or what we do. Jesus confronted this toxic perspective in the Parable of the Rich Fool. But even more than that, he obliterated it in his coming at Christmas. And until we’ve understood and embraced the Christmas identity, we’re going to struggle significantly, and miss out on one of the most foundational and freeing truths in life.

• What was your biggest takeaway from the teaching?
• Where are you seeing yourself as the sum total of your possessions or accomplishments? What about your faults or failures? How so?
• Where do you need to be reconciled anew? Are there any relationships in your life that you might consider reconciling this Christmas season? How could you do that?
• What might need to be reconciled in your life with God this Christmas season?
• How will you begin living out the truths of this teaching this week?

• Stories With Intent by Klyne Snodgrass – Pages 117-143
• Poet & Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes (Combined Ed.) by Kenneth Bailey – Chapter 4 in Through Peasant Eyes
• Jesus, The Middle Eastern Storyteller by Gary M. Burge – Chapter 7

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