1 John 4.19 – We love because he first loved us.

Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Christmas is about the love of God, of grace, hope and faith. Light comes into darkness.  Light comes to conquer the dark world so that we can have new hope

Many of us will come into this season with nervous anticipation, perhaps anxiety, perhaps loneliness, despair, fear, and so many different emotions.  Christmas used to be a time of simply sharing simple fellowship and giving and receiving simple gifts. At the heart of this advent season it is about fellowship. About sharing with the lonely. It is about love. Love gives us hope, gives us strength, gives us faith, and a perseverance to keep going when we feel like giving up.

Now Christmas seems to have lost some of it’s meaning, living in a self-indulgent environment, we can often miss what it really is about. It is about sharing love with one another. Sharing hope. Giving grace, being merciful, forgiving, and living by faith.  It is about bringing light into other people’s lives. It is about shining Christ’s love to others who do not know him, or who have forgotten how much the Lord loves us individually. It is about the good news. It is about the gospel. A tiny infant was born so that we may have hope. Our hope lies with our Lord and saviour for he has given his life so that we may have eternal life.

Though my heart is weary, my faith weak yet as small as a mustard seed, I keep persevering, I keep putting one foot in front of the other foot because in my doubts, in my moments of questioning whether God is real, it is about getting up and going through the same routine, praying, reading his word, worshipping and drawing near to him. This builds foundation in my heart. It teaches me about trusting even though I might not feel his presence. It builds a foundation within me.  Knowing sometimes is better than feeling.

So, even though the last year has been a challenging year the foundations I’ve laid over the last years came into good use. Still persevering. I learned about God’s grace. But most of all I learned about love. There are three dimensions of love. Love God. Love your neighbour. Love yourself. I find loving myself the hardest, but God is teaching me to love myself, because without loving myself I will not be able to move forward and love others well. God gave his son so that we may have everlasting life.

You have worth, I have worth, they have worth because we all are made uniquely by God. He loves you and he cherishes you. There lies your worth. Not with others, not with yourself, but with God lies your worth.

At the heart of Christmas is the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.  Let us turn our eyes to the meaning of Christmas rather than looking inwards on ourselves, let us find the true meaning of this advent season once more. Let us share the love and light of Christ to others who are broken.

What does Christmas mean to you?