Merry Christmas!!
It’s Christmas time, and the love of family and friends is a blessing that’s always at the top of my Christmas list. As hard as we try, time and distance still find ways to prevent us from extending appreciation for the special people God has brought into our lives.
We all can recount the ways our lives have been shaped by others. I’ve often thought of each of us being a ball on a billiard table. As our lives come in contact with each other, the paths we take can be changed forever.
I’m especially thankful for the many ways my life has been touched by so many of you!
With the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We fail to say “hello,” “please,” or “thank you,” congratulate someone when something wonderful happens to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason. Christmas is a time to set expectations for a bright new year.
Few subjects in life ignite as much passion and longing within us as our desire for love and our hope for genuine, enduring relationships. We all long to be loved. Every human being on this planet craves to be cherished by someone. We are wired for relationships by God’s design. God created us to have our hearts fused to His.
One powerful way God expresses His love for us is by bringing another person into our lives to connect with spiritually, emotionally, and physically.
According to our Lord God, loving one another as He loves us means a choice to willfully disregard status and others’ perceptions. It means laying aside ego and giving to people what they don’t deserve (that’s grace) to meet their greatest need—even when their hearts may not be open to it.
Let’s have Christmas bring us all together! Let it bring us hope and love to guide our hearts forever!
In Matthew 1:23, we read:
“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”
God came to earth!
He didn’t send a representative… He sent Himself.
God… with us.
He came to walk with us.
To talk to us.
To listen to us.
To pray with us.
To guide us.
To protect us.
To encourage us.
To pick us up when we fall.
How is that not a story that shows His great love for us?
Yet, His love doesn’t end there. He also came to die for us.
He presented something very precious. Something of extraordinary cost.
With His arms outstretched on a cross, He offered His life.
He was mocked and crucified.
He endured all that because of His love for us.
Christmas is a yearly reminder of how much God loves each of us.
The Bible says God is love.
It doesn’t say God has love; it says God IS love.
There is nothing you can do that will make God stop loving you—because His love for you is based upon His character, not on anything you do or say or feel.
As we move into the holiday season this year, let’s ask God to keep this picture of love at the forefront of our minds. Ask Him to show each of us ways to treat each other with this spirit of unconditional love.
Thank Him for the ultimate show of His love for us—the gift of His Son, Jesus.
“Jesus is the Reason for the Season!”
Happy people don’t have the best of everything.
They just make the best of everything.
- Each time a hand reaches out to help another… that’s Christmas!
- Each time we put anger aside and strive for understanding… that’s Christmas!
- Each time we forget our differences and realize our friendship… that’s Christmas!
This Christmas is a great time to remember that God built us for relationship.
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
In the midst of the hustle and bustle, pause to enjoy the true spirit of Christmas, your family, and the chance to renew acquaintances with old friends.
May special memories surround you with JOY this Christmas!
As the festivities end, the family and friends return home, and all the decorations are removed, we think it is time to put Christmas away—at least until next year.
But that’s when the real work of Christmas begins:
Taking the hope and joy that Jesus brings and using it to heal the broken, provide for the needy, bring peace to our communities, and share light in the darkness.
After Christmas is over, the real work of the season begins.
I wish you a very Merry Christmas!! 🎄✨
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