The Christmas season is a magical time of year filled with twinkling lights, sacred music and children’s laughter. Gifts sit under carefully decorated evergreen trees ready for opening. If I’m honest, I admit to wondering what treasures lay hidden for me in these brightly wrapped packages. What will be the greatest gift of all this Christmas?
For many, Christmas represents joy and anticipation but for some it’s a time of loss and loneliness. Perhaps someone special is absent from the holiday table. No gifts sit under the tree if there’s a tree at all because there’s no money to buy them. While others celebrate, some simply bear through the holiday season wishing it was over. The greatest gift of all is missing from their Christmas.
The superficial trappings of Christmas are inconsequential unless love undergirds them. All the lights, decorations and music make no sense without the care and concern of loving people behind them. Even the smallest homemade gift made with tiny hands is worth more than all the others…because it’s made with love. Love is the greatest gift of all.
Whenever we show love to others, we represent the One who arrived on that first Christmas so long ago. Jesus came on a rescue operation to save a lost world. But He also came to show us what love really looks like. His whole earthly life embodied His mission of love.
Jesus healed the sick, fed the hungry, and showed compassion to the downtrodden. Though at times His love exhibited itself as a harsh word to those who hurt other people. Twice he turned over the tables of the money changers in the temple to make a point. Every word, every action came out of love…for us.
So, this Christmas, follow the example of Jesus. Don’t worry if your decorations and meal prep aren’t like those you see on social media. Don’t stress over finding the perfect gifts for family and friends. Show care and compassion for those suffering through loss or loneliness this time of year. Let every word and every action come out of love. Then you will give the greatest gift of all.
Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail. Love is eternal…What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror; then we shall see face-to-face. What I know now is only partial; then it will be complete—as complete as God’s knowledge of me.
Meanwhile these three remain: faith, hope, and love; and the greatest of these is love.
1Corinthians 13:7-8, 12-13 Good News Bible
