One Monday morning investor Warren Buffett opened his newspaper.

He noticed that oil prices were falling. And, upon further analysis, concluded this decline would continue. Warren Buffet decided that this would be very good for airlines.

So Buffet started to buy up shares in airline stocks. And later that week in an interview, shared his opinion. Because Warren Buffett is such a highly respected investor, people followed suit and by the end of the week, airline stocks had increased by 15%. People wisely concluded that if Warren Buffett invests in something, it must be worth it.

During these 12 days of Christmas you and I ponder the Incarnation, which is a fancy word to describe God coming into the world through Jesus. And we can understand this event as God’s investment in the world – that God sees potential in humanity and where it’s all going – and wants to buy into it.

This may run counter to what you and I see all around us - the formidable fears of terrorism, oppression, violence, and conflict. But God doesn’t see things this way. God sees this world as worthy of his time, attention, and investment. So much so that God is all in.

How about us?

The faith needed for 2017 is to go all in. It is to believe that God has things under control and that our best work is investing in the good being done around us. You and I are to try to hand our worries and concerns over to Jesus - and to think seriously about with whom we have conflict and what we can do about it.

Again, God is “all in” in this world. How can we make 2017 the year we do the same?