“For right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13 (Message)
Christmas is Love
I don’t suspect too many people are surprised by this one, but I do think we’ve taken it for granted. We throw the word ‘love’ around like a football hoping someone will catch our meaning. We might say, for example, we love a movie, we love a suit of clothes or even the weather, but what we usually mean is that we very much like the feeling a particular person or thing give us and we want more of it, not less. But have you ever been hurt by someone, betrayed and abused then find yourself saying, yes I know I’ve been hurt but I love them in spite of it. Most of the time, the hurt feelings that arise from someone’s actions will drive this kind of love right out of us. So maybe it’s not love we’re talking about, but something else.
Christmas introduces us to a new and radical kind of love. The saints understood it, the martyrs lived it and the missionaries offered it. It is the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45-46), it is the hidden treasure (Matthew 13:44) and love is like yeast that transforms everything around it. (Matthew 13:33).
Love [luhv] Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.The difference between God’s love and our is all about the direction it takes. God’s love flows out of His fullness into those He loves, while ours is a feeling we want recapture and keep and so we try to get it from people or things. Our desire for love is to fill the void, the emptiness out of desperation this is why broken relationships leave us so desperately empty. We love what makes us feel good, God loves in order to make the focus of His love good. Look at these examples from Scripture: God so love the world… He gave (John 3:16) God showed his love among us… He sent his Son (1 John 4:9) God demonstrated His love… Christ died for us (Romans 5:8) Do you see the connection? Love is action oriented, not feeling constrained. Love doesn’t say “I’m not feeling it today.” And Love can’t say “what have you done for me lately?” At Christmas, God set aside His omnipotence and took on flesh to enable us, by his example, to be full and overflowing, just as God is. He is pouring into us His love, His life and His Spirit that we can do the same for others. In this way, Christmas is a subversive Holiday, doing in us and through us what we don’t fully expect. Love. This is the essence of Christmas love.
"The soul that walks in love neither tires others nor grows tired." — John of the Cross
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