What God Wants from Us This Christmas?

 

What God Wants from Us This Christmas?

Did Christmas sneak up on you as quickly as it did for me?  The older I get, the quicker the years slip by.  Before I knew it, my children were grown.  I ponder days past, when they were in the sweeter stage.  Everything was magical, and celebrating Christmas came with a deep sense of special days.  Life had meaning beyond work and paying the rent.

I also pause and reflect on this past year.  I am amazed at how God has moved behind the scenes, showcasing His faithfulness.  So, what does God desire from us this Christmas?  What could we possibly give to the Giver of life?  How may we honour God for all the blessings He has graciously given us?  Christmas means God came specifically to live anew within us.

Scripture offers insight into God’s character and heart.  We can learn what gifts we can bring to our Heavenly Father, and even receive a precious gift from Him in return.

What if God had a Christmas 'wish list' that reflects His desires for us?  Since He is the God of love, it would be fitting to seek genuine love as His greatest gift this season.

Mark 12:30 You should love the Eternal, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

John 15:12-13 12  ...love others as I have loved you.  There is no greater way to love than to give your life for your friends.

Love:   Love is the best gift.  But not just any kind of love; instead, the kind that is unconditional and involves selfless sacrifice.  The love that flows from a heart that loves Jesus, longs to love others through His shining example.  Aspects of the love gift involve the following:

Loving God with Your Heart:  As we apply this to our lives, we can love the Lord with our hearts by connecting to Him daily through earnest and relentless prayer. Christmas can bring forth a sweet opportunity to communicate with our Heavenly Father intimately.  We could thank God for His abundant love and grace, then see where the conversation leads as we pour out our inner heart.  Spend the time.  An example is found in Psalm 138, where David connects with the Lord in private prayer.

Love God with Your Mind:  We can love the Lord with our minds by seeking truth and digging into His Word.  Countless verses reference the birth of our Saviour, and can truly make us ponder the wonders and depths of God's love with the birth of Jesus. Read Isaiah 7:17 and 9:6, Micah 5:2, Titus 3:4-6, and 2 Corinthians 9:15.  The gospels of Luke and Matthew are also a good place to start.  As you read these verses, let them resonate as you come into God’s presence.  If there are mistakes you currently believe, or misunderstandings you bend toward, ask God to replace them with His truth to set your mind free.

Loving the Lord God with all our soul:  It involves giving Him our thanks and praise through worship and song.  Christmas is a perfect season to express this love with heartfelt worship.  Many beautiful Christmas songs can truly capture and declare the magnitude of this season.  O Come, O Come, Emmanuel is one of my favourites, and every time I hear it, the words penetrate my soul.  So, give God the gift of your emotional self this season and belt out those songs, letting Him know how much you love Him!

Love and Serve Others:  If the greatest commandment is to love God with our whole heart, mind, and soul, the second command is to love your neighbour as yourself (Matthew 22: 39).  Jesus didn't have to add this command when answering the cynical Pharisees.  Yet He did so purposefully, knowing it was valuable for them to hear.  These commandments may cause us to act unnaturally and to love selflessly; in other words, they can motivate us to love more like Jesus!

When we love our neighbour (or basically anyone that we come into contact with) as ourselves, we treat them the way we want to be treated.  Oh, the universally dubbed "Golden Rule".  However, if we go deeper with that thought, we find that if we love God first, He prompts us on how to love others well.  We can see how these desires and behaviours naturally go hand in hand.  Let’s put it into practice this Christmas season.

Spread Joy: Let's spread joy to others this season by letting God prompt us to share simple acts of kindness (1 John 3:18), to display an attitude of gratitude (1 Thessalonians 5:16-19), and to place another's needs above our own (Philippians 2:3).

Be a Peacemaker:   Matthew 5:9 calls for us to be peacemakers and, even more, that those who promote peace will be abundantly blessed.  The natural tendency may be to disturb, confront, and challenge.  However, God's kingdom is a sanctuary of peace.  We all long for peace and unity, especially around a season that practically welcomes it around the globe.  We can be peacemakers this year by being more patient with others, listening intentionally, acknowledging their views and feelings, and extending grace as needed.  Some might not hear what they need to hear until they know they have been heard first.

Deliver Hope:   Christmas has a special way of bringing renewed hope.  Regardless of how you have been hurt or betrayed by others, the healing medicine is forgiving and fully forgetting.  If we let go of the past, we see the light ahead.  There is nothing quite like the hope we can feel during Christmas.  Isaiah 40:31 tells us that as we renew our hope, we essentially awaken our faith and find new strength to persevere.  Yet for many, the holidays can become painful, and hope can become lost in the fog of private pain. This holiday, let’s be mindful of those who are hurting and reach out in love, delivering hope by bringing a meal, sending a heartfelt card, or stopping in with a warm cup of cocoa.

This Christmas, give God the gift of your love by connecting more deeply through prayer, deep Bible reading, and authentic worship, encouraging spiritual growth.