Love at Christmas

Things have settled down at our house after a busy but wonderful Thanksgiving with our daughter, son-in-law, and three precious granddaughters. With three girls ages 5, 3, and 5 months, there was never a dull moment! Not only did we enjoy a great Thanksgiving celebration, but we were able to make a quick trip (quick as in up and back the same day!) to PA so that our daughter could visit her grandmother whom she had not seen in nearly 2 1/2 years. It was a very special time. Between that day and them having to return home 2 days later, we squeezed in a visit to Colonial Williamsburg, a little one-on-one time for my daughter and myself (which always makes me yearn for years gone by), and we also celebrated Christmas since they will not be with us for Christmas. Whew! Now the house is quiet and clean, but it won't stay that way for long, as 3 of our other grandchildren are coming to stay with us for the weekend while their parents enjoy some much-needed time alone! These are great times. All too soon our grandchildren will growing up and busy with many activities, and won't have as much time to spend with "MaMa and PaPa."

Thinking about these precious grandchildren God has entrusted to us makes me think about something we usually do not equate with Christmas: love. If you really stop and think about the true meaning of Christmas - how Jesus left His home in heaven and was born as a baby in very humble surroundings, all so that God could fulfill His promise to us that He would provide a Savior for our sin - Christmas can be summed up with one word: love. Love is found in the person of Jesus Christ.

But this time of year finds us so busy, tired, over-committed, stressed and distracted that we find that we have lost sight of the more important reason of why we are even celebrating Christmas: God's great love for us in the person of Jesus, and us showing that love to our family and others. In this post I would like to look at just one verse that reminds us of the perfect example of love at Christmas: John 1:14. Let's unpack it phrase by phrase.

"And the Word was made flesh" - Jesus was born as a human being, and as a human being, He subjected Himself to all the miseries of human nature. He was still God, but He was also man and became hungry, thirsty, tired, busy and all of the things that we experience - but without sin. Only love could have made Him do that for us. And because He was flesh (human), He is the perfect teacher and example for us.

"and dwelt among us" - Dwell means to live permanently, to settle in. Matthew 1:23 says that one of the names for Jesus "Emmanuel" means "God with us."  Jesus could have just come for a visit or for a brief time as a grown man and then died on the cross, but because of His love for us, He came and resided here among us so that He could minister and serve those He loved.

"and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father" - this is one of the benefits to us of Jesus being born: we could now see the glory of God first-hand. We know what He is like because of His Son. Those who were most intimate with Him knew Him best. What do those closest to us know us to be like? Do they see love, or do they see unkindness, impatience, rudeness, and other unlovely things?

"full of grace and truth" - Jesus coming gave us the two things we need most and don't have: grace and truth. Grace is what saves us and enables us to live each and every day. Truth is found only in God and His Word. What wonderful gifts that God gave us when He gave us His Son!

At this point in December, we still have most of our Christmas celebrations ahead of us. We are all busy with shopping, wrapping, mailing, decorating, baking, attending special Christmas events, and a myriad of other things. In the midst of all of it, don't forget to stop and think about why we are doing all of it. It's all because of love.

Lovingly,
Kathi