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The Word became flesh and made his"); document.writeln("dwelling among us.¹

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Greater love has no one than this: to lay"); document.writeln("down one\'��s life for one\'��s friends.²

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In the 1800s, a"); document.writeln("remote Hawaiian island called Molokai was used as a leper colony. It was a"); document.writeln("place of isolation, despair, and death. Those sent there were considered"); document.writeln("untouchable, and were rejected and forgotten by society. But a Catholic priest"); document.writeln("from Belgium, called Father Damien, heard about Molokai and decided that he"); document.writeln("needed to send more than prayers and resources\'�”He needed to go! He could not,"); document.writeln("and would not, forget. Knowing full well that leprosy was very contagious and"); document.writeln("in most cases fatal, Father Damien sailed to the island to live among the"); document.writeln("people. He was not bothered by what might happen to him. He did not keep his"); document.writeln("distance from the sick and dying, in fact, he embraced them, bandaged their"); document.writeln("wounds and held their hands as they took their last breaths. He eventually"); document.writeln("caught the leprosy himself. He went to become what they were\'�”because of love."); document.writeln("Father Damien had gone to his death willingly.

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Jesus came to"); document.writeln("this sick and sinful world willingly. Knowing full well that He would be"); document.writeln("rejected, betrayed and murdered. He could have, very well, saved us from a"); document.writeln("distance and spoken the words down to us. But that is how the unconditional"); document.writeln("love of God for us is! Jesus came to live among us. John 1:14 says, \'��The Word"); document.writeln("became flesh and dwelt among us.\'�� He came to where we are. He suffered"); document.writeln("among us. He lived in our brokenness, in our bitterness, in our ugliness. He"); document.writeln("touched the untouchable and embraced the unlovely. He took our disease\'�”our sin"); document.writeln("and died among us. Love IS the Greatest Gift of all!

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Suggested prayer:"); document.writeln("Thank you, Heavenly Father, for your love toward us. When we were drowning in"); document.writeln("the ugliness of our sin, You decided that we were worth loving, worth saving, and"); document.writeln("worth sending Your own precious Son to die for us. This Christmas, and always,"); document.writeln("it is our Greatest Gift! In the name of Jesus, Amen.

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1. John"); document.writeln("1:14.

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2. John"); document.writeln("15:13.

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Today\'��s Encounter"); document.writeln("was written by: Veronica B.

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