๐—”๐—ฑ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜ ๐Ÿฐ: ๐—Ÿ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ

Published on 22 December 2024 at 15:29

๐—”๐—ฑ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜ ๐Ÿฐ: ๐—Ÿ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ

We’re nearing the end of our Advent journey, but today’s theme is at the heart of Christmas: love. If you’ve ever watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas, you know that even the grumpiest, most hardened hearts can’t resist the power of love. The Grinch’s heart grew three sizes when he realized that Christmas wasn’t about the presents, the food, or the decorations—it was about something more.

For us, that “something more” is the incredible love of God, demonstrated through the birth of Jesus Christ.

 

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—”๐—ฑ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜

John 3:16 says it best:

"๐น๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐บ๐‘œ๐‘‘ ๐‘ ๐‘œ ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘™๐‘‘, ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐ป๐‘’ ๐‘”๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐ป๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘†๐‘œ๐‘›, ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘™๐‘–๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘–๐‘› ๐ป๐‘–๐‘š ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘ โ„Ž ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘’๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘›๐‘Ž๐‘™ ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘“๐‘’.”

Christmas is the ultimate love story. God didn’t wait for us to get our act together or prove we were worth saving. Instead, He sent His Son to us while we were still lost, broken, and undeserving. That tiny baby in the manger? He came because of God’s deep, unshakable love for you and me.

Paul captures this beautifully in Romans 5:8:

“๐ต๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐บ๐‘œ๐‘‘ ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ค๐‘  ๐ป๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ข๐‘  ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘ค๐‘’ ๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘›๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ , ๐ถโ„Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ข๐‘ .”

The love of Christmas isn’t a warm feeling or a sentimental idea. It’s an action—a sacrificial love that changes everything.

 

๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—Ÿ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ

Jesus not only came to show us God’s love, but He also called us to live it out. In John 13:34-35, He said:

"๐ด ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ค ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘๐‘š๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก ๐ผ ๐‘”๐‘–๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข, ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ: ๐‘—๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘Ž๐‘  ๐ผ โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข, ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘ ๐‘œ ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ. ๐ต๐‘ฆ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘œ๐‘๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘˜๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘€๐‘ฆ ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘๐‘–๐‘๐‘™๐‘’๐‘ , ๐‘–๐‘“ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ.”

Christmas is the perfect time to live out this command. Maybe it’s showing love through a kind gesture, offering forgiveness to someone who hurt you, or sharing the Good News of Jesus with a friend who needs hope.

 

๐—ฆ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—š๐—ผ๐—ฑ’๐˜€ ๐—Ÿ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—–๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜€

The world is full of people searching for love—real, unconditional love that doesn’t depend on performance or perfection. We have the incredible privilege of pointing them to the source of that love: Jesus.

As we celebrate Christmas, let’s remember that it all started with love. Love came down to earth in the form of a tiny baby, born in a humble stable, so that we could experience life, hope, and salvation.

So whether you’re enjoying a cozy family dinner, standing in line at a busy store, or watching The Grinch for the 20th time, let the love of Christ shine through you. After all, His love is what Christmas is all about—and that’s better than anything you’ll find under the tree.

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