We can all agree no matter what religion we are, or if we are not religious at all, that Christmas is a celebration on Jesus’ birth. It is a time of love. We experience the love of spending time, giving and receiving gifts, and enjoying food with family and friends. Many of us give gifts to the less fortunate to share love and hope with others. For others, due to circumstances of life, they dread this time of the year. They remember those they have lost, better times, lost love and other things that lead us to hurt in their lives.
Whether we love or hate this time of the year many of us don’t take time to remember that Christmas is all about God’s Love. The Apostle John wrote, “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10 NKJV)
The Apostle John wrote the opening statement in verse 9, “In this the love of God was manifested toward us.” The definition of manifest is “clear or obvious to the eye or mind.” Christmas shows us in a clear and obvious way that God loves us. It’s all about His love toward us. “We love Him because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)
His love is so great for us it is hard to imagine. God brought His only begotten Son into the world to lay down His life for you, for me, for everyone in the world. The Apostle John wrote, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome, “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8)
We fall short of God’s Glory. The Apostle Paul wrote, “As it is written: There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10) and “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) The Apostle Paul tells us because we are sinners, we will face punishment. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
God’s love gives the gift of eternal life. “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10)
Pastor Timothy Hammond
Oak Street Baptist Church
