I was in Berlin exactly one week before the act of terror in December 2016. You wouldn’t have suspected anything was coming; it was festive and joyous downtown, as you’d expect it to be during the Christmas season.

It had lights and trees, shoppers and smiles. But somehow, I still felt missing from the beautiful scene you see in the photo above. As I waited for lunch just before I was due to fly back to Singapore, I asked God to help me fill in the blanks.

His answer: They were celebrating Christmas – without Christ. It was a most beautiful, most meaningless Christmas.

Today – the last day of 2016 – I went back to God to ask what He would like me to focus on in 2017. I chanced upon 2 Corinthians 5:18 which said God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, has given us a ministry of reconciliation.

Will you be my ambassador in the coming new year, He asked?

Our job on this earth is to reconcile man to God, restore relationships with family members, and become the righteousness of God in our workplace.

The aim: To reconcile people back to the One who was there when they were first created. To put Christ back into all their Christmasses. To put true meaning back into their lives.

As we count down to 2017 and prepare for the start of a new school or work year, make the most important preparation of all – doing whatever it takes to ensure that the presence and the love of God aren’t missing from our lives. So that the love of God will flow out through us – His ambassadors – and restore Him to the festivities.
 
The author works in the public sector and hopes for more time to reflect as he heads into the new year.