Merry Christmas. What a blessing it is to celebrate the birth of Jesus today just as it was for the shepherds to whom the angels appeared centuries ago. They proclaimed, “‘I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord'” (Luke 2:10-11). Because Jesus came we can be saved. Truly awesome.
If I only had one word to describe Christmas I would choose “love.” Of course many other words are also wrapped up in this wonderful birthday like hope, joy, peace, giving, humility, praise, worship, king, and glory to name just a few. But love stands out. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:16-17). It’s love God that has within himself between Father, Son, and Spirit which he wants to share with all he has created, especially people.
Love compelled God to become a man in Jesus, miraculously born to Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago. The baby who lay in a manger would later lay down his life to save the world. “For the Son of Man [Jesus] came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). During his ministry on earth Jesus modeled and taught his followers, “whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:43-45). “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12-13).
Jesus called his followers then and all believers now to do the same. After his death and resurrection before returning to heaven, Jesus told his disciples, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (John 20:21). If you want to grow in your relationship with God, you must grow in love, for God is love. Love is the way to know God fully and to make him fully known to others (Ephesians 3:14-19; John 13:34-35).
This is easier said than done. For our human nature is to put ourselves before others, to gather rather than give away, and to offload burdens rather than accept them. To reverse this we need to die to our way of doing things and let God live and love through us. As we do he changes us and he reaches others. He helps us lay down our lives in sacrificial serving to those around us, even those we might typically avoid or overlook. This usually costs us something. Sometimes it’s even painful. But don’t give up. That’s how love is at times. That’s how it was for Jesus on the cross. Love is so much more than a warm, happy, feeling. “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).
Love is a choice and a commitment to follow God’s lead to care for others and ourselves as he does even when it’s uncomfortable, inconvenient, or burdensome. Jesus modeled this in seeking out the least, the lost, the last and the unlovely. He even loved people and died for them while they were still hostile and rebellious toward him. His love and sacrifice includes us today. “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8). Everyone God brings across your path is worth loving. Trust him to empower you to love them and know that he will bring good from it. Whenever you give of yourself God fills you back up with more of himself. That is a gift exchange well worth making. It brings glory to God and peace among people. So this Christmas and each day this coming year make your greatest gift God’s love by laying down your life just like he did for you in Jesus.