1 John 4:16, "So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him."
It's amazing how each Christmas we can miss out on the simple joys the holiday is supposed to be about. We get busy with our Christmas cards, letters, holiday shopping, decorating our homes, and planning meals. We get caught up in the plan set for the end of the month, obligations, parties, and overspending. Even when we try to cut back on some of these things I believe we all can say Christmas comes so quickly and the time you'd look forward to with your family doesn't come about quite as you plan. The peace and calm is more like a whirlwind and over before it begins. We get exhausted and lose the precious moments with family and the true meaning of Christmas.
A mother tells the story of the year her son was in kindergarten. Like all parents, she looked forward to watching her son perform in the school's winter pageant. Unfortunately, she was going to have to work the night of the performance. Since this happened to many families the teachers allowed parents to come in and watch their child perform during the last rehearsal so they could see their children perform.
The morning of the rehearsal she joined several other parents in the cafeteria to watch the dress rehearsal. As each child performed, smiles were shared. Being a public school the mother didn't expect much religion to be put into the songs. She was expecting more fun, commercial songs meant to entertain. Yet, to her surprise when her son's class stood to sing, the song was called Christmas Love.
As the kindergarten class stood with their fuzzy mittens and hats, the mother's son stood smiling. As the kids sang, a group of kids stood front and center holding up large letters for the song as it progressed. C for Christmas, H for happy and so on. The letters were supposed to spell Christmas Love by the end.
Everything was going smoothly until the little girl with the letter M flipped up her card. She mistakenly had it upside down as a W. The other students and parents began to quietly snicker. The little girl had no idea what they were laughing at and proudly held up her W.
The teachers tried to shush the students as the song continued. But as soon as the last letter was raised a hush fell over the cafeteria. With eyes widened in awe, everyone understood the reason they were there. The reason to celebrate Christmas in the first place. Even in all the chaos there is a reason for the season.
With the last letter held high the message rang loud and clear -CHRISTWASLOVE-
Have we forgotten the message? It's easy to say no, of course not, but truly examine your answer. We all get caught up in the fun, commercial part of Christmas. With holiday planning, shopping, and decorating. There are Christmas parties to attend, secret Santas to keep up with, and of course Christmas morning with the gifts. Aside from going to church to celebrate Jesus and Christmas with your church program, do you really take time throughout the month to remember the message -Christ was love.
I know I don't, as much as I should. I've gotten caught up with the fun of Christmas. But, we all can change that this year. God is love, God sent Jesus to share that love to you and me. Jesus gave up everything to come to earth as a human baby, feel our pains, live how we live, face dilemmas, temptations, and trials as we do. He did that so we could have the undeserved salvation sin takes away. Christ was love; Christ is love. Christmas is the beginning of our redemption story.
Yes, enjoy this month ahead of you. Celebrate, decorate, have your festivities. Yet, in all you do remember to take time each day to remember to put Christ back into the season. Remember the W in Christmas and the love we were shown when Jesus was born. The love that continues to show in your life each and every day. CHRISTWASLOVE
The best way to learn of God's love for us is to spend time in His Word. The Bible is God's love letter to us and in it we can find so much for our lives and how we can be helped through all things. Our way to show our love back is to read the Bible, learn from God, and talk with God. Every day of the year we should be growing in our love of God and feeling His love back because we take time with Him. Let's continue our study on the Joy of Christmas and find a new joy God is showing us.
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and if you'd like take a few more minutes to look around or click on my other links, God bless.
If you haven't already please subscribe to our email list on our homepage https://www.connectwithgoddaily.com/ or join any of our media, and please feel free to visit us on Facebook and join our group. https://www.facebook.com/dailyblessingblog/
Also come visit and see what is new in our bookstore. dswells.weebly.com
Don't forget to share with your friends some inspiration today and brighten up their day too.
For those new to our emails, if you would rather receive these via text or on messenger please let me know through my email, dswell123@yahoo.com or our FaceBook page.
Comments