Sunday, December 18, 2022
“The Reason for the Season”
The theme of Christmas Love should be an easy one to work with, primarily because Love is the reason we have the blessing of the Holiday Season in the first place. And, in many ways, Love still drives the entirety of our Holiday Traditions.
Manufacturers, service providers, and retail outlets are hoping that our Love for each other will encourage us to spend some cash. Our Love for Holiday decorations pushes us to hang lights and decorate trees. Our Love for a special food item takes us to the kitchen or favorite restaurant, and our Love for special experiences influences our decisions and priority lists this Holiday Season. And, of course, our local churches are working diligently to provide special worship on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, helping us to experience God’s Love in unique and beautiful ways.
But there’s one thing that we sometimes forget about Christmas. The reason that God gave us Christmas is so that we could receive the love of God without fear of consequences, rejection, or doubt. God wants us to love and be loved, not as a directive, but as a desire.
God’s gift of Love is an option that all of us can access. At Christmastime, God’s Love blossoms in a big and beautiful way, clearing the path for us to move forward in our relationship with both him and each other. This week, keep the focus on God’s Love. Indeed, it is the Reason for the Season.
“But now faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13, NASB)