This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God. 1 John 4:9-10 Msg
To the majority of people in the world Christmas is about spending time with family and friends. A time of giving, spreading joy and showing good will towards one another. Emotional walls built up by hurt, disappointment and mistrust seem to crumble. For many we allow our hearts to become more vulnerable and open. Why? Because we celebrate the greatest love known to man that came to earth in the form of a baby. For a brief time we are embraced by that love whether we believe in the Giver or not. The world experiences it’s life changing impact and it’s transformational abilities can be seen and felt in society. Throughout communities, families and individuals alike there is a restoration of what has been damaged and broken.
I was reminded of this truth when I found an audio tape my Mother-in-law had made for our daughter while cleaning out my basement entitled “Grammy Reads for Caitie, Christmas 1994”. To say she loved Christmas was an understatement, and she always made sure to give a keepsake for each year, and somehow this tape got into a box of our daughter’s childhood books. Probably because she passed her love of books and reading on to her, and she has kept every book Grammy gave her.
All those “special” yearly gifts became even more special when she passed away in 2001. And every year they bring back memories. I wish I could say they were all good, but they weren’t. Carole and I had a rocky start and there was a lot of misunderstanding, miscommunication and misconceptions. So we came to an understanding to be gracious to each other when we had to. But once I got pregnant with Caitie, God spoke to my heart and said things had to change. Carole loved children, especially her grandbabies. So going in great trepidation I reached out to her, and to my surprise found out that she wanted to “bury the hatchet” too. It took a baby for us to reconcile our feelings with one another, to forgive and move on. Now it was no longer me coming into her family, but a part of me was going to be her family, her granddaughter who she loved even before she was born.
Soon after she made this tape she was diagnosed with cancer, and although there were a lot of hard times, Carole and I became closer not only in our personal relationship with each other, but spiritually with our Heavenly Father, who we were united with because of His Son. Isn’t it amazing how a “baby” changed everything?
I encourage you today to think about how much God loved you that He was willing to send His Son as a baby. So we could see how life transforming Jesus’ love relationship was with the Father. He showed us how much He trusted and knew God loved Him by enduring the agony and pain of the cross to make a way for us to have the same kind of relationship with Him! And the Father showed His love back by keeping His promise and raising Him from the dead to give us victory over death and all our foes! Now that’s true love! And the best Christmas gift ever!
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