“This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1 John 4:9-11 (NIV)
Introduction
God loves us so much that He sent Jesus on a mission of love with a message of love. Christmas always reminds us that God loves us. The Bible says God is love. It doesn’t say God has love. What the Bible says indicates that Love is God’s nature. God created us because He loves us.
The reason we are alive is because God created us as objects of His love. He created us so He could love us and we could also love Him. He loves us whether we feel His love or not.
He loves us regardless of whether or not we think we deserve His love – “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16 NLT
God is LOVE and no words can adequately describe the beauty and wonder of what it means to be loved completely by the Creator of the universe. That embodiment of God’s love is Jesus, and when Jesus took on human flesh and came to us as a baby, He made it possible for us to know God’s love.
We therefore celebrate the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, who comes to us, not to conquer, not to enslave, not to dominate, but to give us all His love at Christmas. He left His glory and the warmth of heaven to be born in a stable to an unwelcoming world.
Just before He was born, Mary, His mother, was not welcomed in any of the cozy inns in Bethlehem. Instead, she delivered her baby in the darkness of a cold stable. The Creator of the Universe, the Perfect Judge who could destroy the world with a single word, was willing to endure this gloomy beginning for us. The Son of God became man to enable men to become sons of God.
This is unconditional love! We who have experienced God’s unconditional love are commanded to share this love with others – “Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other” – 1 John 4:11 (NLT)
God wants us to express His supernatural love to others so that we become examples of God’s love to the world as we love our neighbours through the enabling of His Holy Spirit. Paul states in Ephesians 3:17-18 “May your roots go down deep in to the soil of God’s marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love really is” – (NLT).
To experience God’s supernatural love, we have to claim it by faith. We have the potential to love anyone God puts in our way and have to learn “how to love by faith.”
When we invite God’s unconditional love by faith, love will flow through us and we will discover a rekindled love that is alive.
Nothing breaks the hardened ground of unforgiveness and bitterness like sincere acts and words of love. A positive response may not be immediate, but let us keep on loving and reaching out for there is no power on earth stronger than God’s supernatural love.
Knowing Jesus
We can have peace and find hope and know forgiveness through a personal relationship with Christ Jesus. Love has a name and the Name is JESUS which has a place in our hearts.
Best of all, Christmas means a spirit of love, a time when the love of God and love of our fellow men prevail over all hatred and bitterness, a time when our thoughts and deeds and the spirit of our lives manifest the presence of God.
On the cross, when Jesus stretched His arms so wide, He must have been saying: “Although it hurts, I love you so much that I will die for you so that I won’t have to live without you.”
God’s love surpasses all human knowledge, and it is difficult for any of us to grasp the width and length and height and depth of God’s love for each one of us – Ephesians 3:17-19.
How would your life change if you deeply believe God loves you? Ask God to help you in your unbelief. You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer. Praying is simply talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart.
Respond to Jesus
If Jesus does not yet live in you, then this Christmas time is the best time to invite Him into your life. Make room in your heart for Him and you will not regret it. For He who is God’s love in action will enter in your life and enrich you with Himself – His Love, Joy and Peace. He will give you new perspectives on life so that your life will be a demonstration of real love – a love that gives rather than taking; a love that does not demand its own way, a love that seeks to make other lives enjoyable.
Make this Christmas and every day of your life, a time of giving.
Remain Blessed!
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