Tag: love

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4 Truths About Doubts and Questions (and why they’re not as bad as you think)

4 Truths About Doubts and Questions

 

I’ve been wrestling with some tough questions these past few months. In this post, I’m not going to try to answer them, because I know I don’t have all the answers. However, I’d like to present some truths regarding what doubts are and how we can deal with them.

 

  1. You are not alone in your questioning.

If you were to ask everyone about whether they believed everything they were expected to, you’d be surprised at their answers. I promise, as much as we can know the answers, it’s not always easy to believe them. So before we try to hide that we can question aspects of our faith – for example, “Is God really for me? Is He really good? Am I really never alone?” – we should know that there are, in fact, other people in the world like us that question the same things.

 

However, that doesn’t necessarily make the doubts right – it just means that other people wonder the same things as us. If two people speculate that the grass is red and the sky is yellow, does that make them right? Absolutely not. They’re just confused together.

 

Similarly, when we doubt and realize that other people think the same way we do, that’s a good thing because we can relate to others. But when we doubt and conclude that because someone else agrees with us, the voices of doubt must be right, we’re looking at it from the wrong perspective. Questioning with others lets us breathe in the fact that others are like us, and not that we’re automatically correct. This leads into my next point.

 

  1. Doubting is not a sin.

Doubt isn’t wrong, and questioning isn’t sinful. What doubts can do is lead us to discover what really is right. Finding support in others with similar doubts is a good thing because it allows us to look for answers alongside like-minded people. Doubting isn’t wrong in and of itself. However, if we stay in a point of skepticism, we can stunt out spiritual growth. This, however, can be resolved through the following point:

 

  1. Times of questioning should be utilized to help us find answers.

Instead of shoving down those voices in your head, address them. If I’m doubting whether God loves me because something terrible has happened to me, I shouldn’t try to deny that. Instead, I should go to the Bible and find the truth for myself.

For instance, look at Romans 8:37-39.

 

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

While I love this passage, and it tells me about the love of God, I want to be shown.

 

So let’s look at John 3:16.

 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

 

In this, my (hypothetical) doubt of God’s love slowly diminishes. When I can look to the Bible and see clear proof that I am loved, as much as doubts can still stay, it’s a little easier to believe that I really am loved. I don’t mean that the Bible is the end-all-be-all of doubt. I know that we can read the Bible for years and still not fully believe it. Trust me, the Bible doesn’t make all our doubts go away, but our doubts do not undermine the truth of God.

 

  1. God does not expect us to live in blind faith.

Christianity isn’t about believing crazy “facts” that we pretend make sense. It’s about believing a rather reasonable truth – that God created the world, gave us free will, and we chose sin; because of our sin, He sent His Son to forgive us of our sin by dying and rising from the dead, and by believing that He was the perfect sacrifice for us, the only One who could pay the price for our sin, we are saved.

 

But He gives us the Bible and He gives us the Holy Spirit. He will reveal Himself to us when we seek Him, and gives us the proof of Jesus on earth for us. He doesn’t leave us to wander in the dark; He wants us to know Him. He wants us to trust Him.

 

It’s normal for us to encounter questions in our faith. It’s healthy to question in order to find out what truth is. However, we cannot live in a state of unbelief. Belief is the center of our faith, and faith is not possible if we stay cynical or skeptical.

 

In Mark 9, we read about a boy with an unclean spirit who is brought to Jesus to be healed. Let’s read a little bit of that passage.

 

Mark 9:21-24

And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

 

When we doubt, instead of giving into skepticism, let us dig for truth and exclaim, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

 

Instead of letting go of our faith, let us find the answers to our questions, and seek God to help us believe them.

 

*aj

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Dear Reader: You Are Loved No Matter What

Dear Reader- You Are Loved No Matter What

Dear Reader,

 

I want you to know that you are loved.

 

I want you to see that not only are you not your past, but you are not loved because of anything you could ever do.

 

While some see that as depressing, I see that as relieving. That no matter what I do, I cannot “lose” God’s love. Neither can you.

 

We cannot sin so many times to retract God’s love from us. We cannot make so many mistakes or bad decisions, or be such a disappointment that God says, “Sorry kid, I don’t love you anymore.”

 

The reality is that His love has nothing to do with our performance, but everything to do with His mercy and grace.

 

The conditions on which He loves us have nothing do do with who we are but who He is.

 

We make mistakes, and we sin. Our inherent nature is not to be perfect, but to live for ourselves. Yet God is different. God doesn’t say, “I love you because you’re perfect,” He says, “I love you because I am perfect.”

 

“I love you because I created you.”

“I love you because even though you do not deserve it, I choose to love you.”

 

That’s powerful.

 

You are cherished, no matter what your life looks like.

 

I’m not trying to say, “Hey, everyone! Because God loves you regardless of your lifestyle, go live however you want!” My point is to the contrary.

 

In knowing that we are loved in spite of the fact that we’re utterly imperfect, we find freedom. Not to live as slaves to our sinful desires, for when we grasp the love of God, the love of sin won’t seem so lovely anymore.

 

See, the love of God didn’t stop with the simple phrase, “I love you.” It only started there. It was an “I love you; let me prove it to you.”

 

Sending Jesus to die to pay the price of the forgiveness of our sins (whew, that was a mouthful) brought that love from just a word to an action. God didn’t sit back and say to us, “I love you, but you’re gonna have to figure it out on your own, because that whole sin mess you got yourselves into is ugly and tough to deal with, so good luck.”

 

No, He said, “I love you, and I don’t want to see any of you spend eternity apart from me. Here is my Son, to die and rise from the dead, that in believing in Him you may have life and be my child.”

 

John 20:31

“But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

 

John 1:12-13

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

 

So Dear Reader, no matter what you do, you are loved with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). You are loved by a God who desperately wants to have a relationship with you. You are loved because of who He is and because of His amazing grace, and not because of your performance.

 

Let us not forget that that we are NEVER out of the reach of His mercy and love.

 

*aj

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Dear Reader: You Are Not Your Past

Dear Reader- You Are Not Your Past.png

I’m opening a new category on my blog called “Dear Reader.” This will be a lot like “Dear Christian Teens,” but it’ll hopefully have a more expanded demographic than just 13-19. I love to write in letter format rather than lecture. I want to share my heart as I would with a friend, not just tell you all what you should and shouldn’t do.

 

I’d like to do an occasional post where I can look you in the eyes and say “listen. I know you’re not perfect, and I’m definitely not either. Let’s figure out life together.” instead of writing a speech.

 

I want my posts, particularly my “Dear Reader” posts, to be freeing.

 

Without further adieu, let me bring you the first installment of “Dear Reader.”

 

Dear Reader,

 

You are not your past.

 

You are not what you have done or where you have been.

 

You are not the choices you’ve made.

 

You are not your image or accomplishments.

 

You are not defined by all the sins you’ve committed.

 

You are not your addictions.

 

And I mean it.

 

You are covered by grace.

 

You became covered by grace the moment you said “Jesus, I believe you can and will forgive my sins.”

 

You are covered by grace because you are loved by your Creator. Because He said, “I don’t want to see my child eternally separated from me.”

 

Grace is such that we cannot outrun it. We cannot out-sin it. We cannot get to a point where it does not apply to us anymore. We cannot earn it. Why?

 

Grace is a gift.

 

You do not deserve to be forgiven, and neither do I.

 

But Dear Reader, that’s why grace is amazing. We do not deserve grace of any kind, we do not deserve mercy, we do not deserve forgiveness. Grace is undeserved, and it is beautiful.

 

Grace says, “I have seen your sin and yet I love you. Yet I forgive you. I have seen your filth and yet I call you clean.”

 

God sees us as NEW.

 

He does not see our failures; He sees His Son’s perfection in us.

 

He does not call us on our screw-ups, on our deliberate sins, or on our flaws. He says, “I love you, and what you have done cannot change that.”

 

Dear Reader, you are not your past because God has washed it away.

 

You are called holy and blameless.

 

Titus 3:4-7

“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

 

You are justified by His grace. God sees you the same as if you’d lived the perfect life and never did anything wrong.

 

You are not your past – you are a new creation because you are in Christ.

 

2 Corinthians 5:17

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

 

Instead of beating ourselves up over and over about our sin, why don’t we see at as God sees it? FORGIVEN.

 

Psalm 103:12

“As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”

 

So Dear Reader,

 

It’s alright that we’re not perfect, it’s alright that we’re messed up, it’s all right that we’re sinners, because grace covers us. We are held in the hands of a loving God, not an angry one.

 

You do not have to let what you’ve done define how you see yourself. See yourself as God sees you, and let JESUS define you.

 

You are new.

 

*aj

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4 Things I Learned During My First Year Blogging

4 Things I Learned During My First Year Blogging

To all of you who took my survey and celebrated my blogiversary with me, thank you! (If you hadn’t seen the extra post I put up on Wednesday, go read it here! It’s celebrating my 1-year anniversary of when I started blogging.) You all are so sweet and kind, and I appreciate all the feedback. If you haven’t taken the survey yet (I only got a few responses), please do go and take it. I know there are a lot of you who don’t comment, but know that you are a reader, and your input definitely counts. Here’s the link once more to the post.

 

Moving on.

 

I learned a lot in my first year of blogging, and I believe it has grown me as a person.

 

So, here are four things I learned in my first year of blogging.

  1. I’m not perfect, and it’s alright.

 

It’s alright because I’m still growing. You’re still growing. That is a very good thing. I made some blogging mistakes this year, just like I made life mistakes too. It’s okay. God is loving and gracious and forgiving, and, as I’ve learned, readers are gracious too.

 

  1. Don’t be afraid to be uncomfortable.

 

I like comfort. You like comfort. We all like comfort. But unless we go outside our comfort zones, we won’t grow or mature or learn anything new. Unless we stretch our borders to something bigger than ourselves, we’ll stay at the same place.

 

Trying new things can be challenging, but so worth it. This past year, I started writing book reviews (something I previously loathed with all of my being), I started taking karate (something I would have never thought I enjoy!), I’m taking some challenging classes for school, I’m starting to edit now as opposed to waiting until I graduate college, I’ve made online friends who know me pretty much just as well as my in-real-life friends, and so much more.

 

These things can be scary, but they are so wonderful. If you’re just itching to start a blog but you’re scared, then go. Do it. It may not be easy, it may not be the best ever, but you’ll learn, and it will be worth it!

 

  1. Commitments can keep you on track.

 

I write twice a week, on Monday and Friday nights for the next mornings. At first, I couldn’t wait to start writing, but every now and then, I just don’t want to write. I’m tired. It’s late. I want to watch a movie and go to bed. But you know what? If I hadn’t committed to doing it twice a week, I probably wouldn’t have done it even once, because when I don’t have a commitment, I’m not motivated.

 

It might seem strange, I know, but it’s helped me to stay on track, and learn, and mature in my faith as well as in my writing. By giving myself a goal, and holding myself to it, I have stretched myself to work hard and improve, week by week.

 

  1. It’s not about me.

 

I love blogs, and I love blogging, but when I set out to start this blog, I didn’t want this to be all about me, and my problems, and my feelings, and my life, and my happiness, and my everything.

 

I sought to make this about Jesus, and His love. I don’t want to just rant about my feelings, I want to make Scattered Journal Pages about spiritual maturity. I want to grow, and lead others to the Cross. I want others to see His love through me. I want to bring glory to the One who gives me everlasting life.

 

This year has been amazing, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything, even with its ups and downs. This year has brought me to the place I am now, and God has revealed overwhelmingly to me who He is.

 

Thank you all for reading my posts, for commenting, for supporting me, and for learning with me. I pray you all would experience the love of Jesus.

 

*aj

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Christianity: Hypocrisy vs. Authenticity (+ news!)

Christianity

 

Something I find really interesting is the concept that Christians are hypocrites. Don’t get me wrong, so many of us can be. We’re imperfect, and just accepting Jesus doesn’t make us perfect, stellar human beings. We still have a sin nature. We’re still tempted, and we still fall into sin sometimes.

 

But I think I’m starting to figure out the difference between hypocritical Christians and authentic ones.

 

Let’s compare the two. Comparisons are helpful.

 

Hypocrites are motivated selfishly, to live a “Christian” life for what they can get out of it. However, authentic Christians embrace humility and selflessness.

Philippians 2:3

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”

 

Understanding the Gospel means that we understand our lowly state. That because we were sinners, Christ died for us. Not because we deserved it. Knowing that we don’t deserve anything brings us to a state of humility – and also of freedom. HE LOVES ME! I don’t have to prove anything! This is such a contrast from walking around on eggshells, trying to prove that you’re a good person. News flash: no matter how hard you “just try,” you won’t be able to measure up.

 

Hypocrites live to impress others. Authentics (I’m going to coin that word for the moment) seek approval from God. I don’t mean in earning salvation, but I mean in “living the Christian life.”

 

Person A: LOOK AT ME OVER HERE, SLAVING AWAY FOR JESUS, THIS IS REALLY HARD, ISN’T ANYONE PAYING ATTENTION TO ME?

Person B: I love Jesus and want to serve Him with my life – He saved it, after all.

 

I’m not saying we have to have to use Person B’s words, but without that heart attitude, we won’t grow in our faith. Church and Jesus and Bible all becomes like empty religion – meaningless obligation, filthy rags.

 

Galatians 1:10

“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

 

1 Thessalonians 2:4

“But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.”

 

Who are we trying to please? What are we living for? To please, or not to please — that is the question. (Hehe.)

 

And one more difference, before I close.

Hypocrites try to be perfect. Authentics know they are new in Christ, and do not have to put on a face of impeccability.

 

2 Corinthians 5:17

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

 

As authentic Christians (meaning that we’re not trying to pretend to be someone that we’re not), we don’t need to “work hard” or “prove that we’re saved” or “pretend to be flawless” or anything like that. We are new creations. We are no longer under condemnation.

 

Romans 8:1

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

 

When we experience God’s love and grace, it’s more natural to be authentic.

 

We don’t have to pretend to love God because we already do. We don’t have to pretend to be overwhelmed my grace because we already are. We don’t have to pretend to enjoy serving God because we already will.

 

Authenticity isn’t hard to come by. It’s true that no matter who we are, because we’re imperfect, we’ll all be accused of hypocrisy at some point. But that’s not our focus.

 

The focus here is to understand this amazing love, and not get caught up in dos and don’ts.

 

We don’t have to get caught up trying to live a perfect life, because we can’t.

 

We must get to the root – understanding grace, and hope, and truth, and love, and out of that will flow an authentic life.

 

—

 

Oh, I have news! If you hadn’t noticed it on the sidebar of my blog, I joined Twitter on Saturday. So, you can follow me and see my tweets at https://twitter.com/amanda_beguerie/ or just search my handle, @amanda_beguerie. All lowercase. So far, I’ve posted Bible verse graphics, and when I think of something profound to say…then I’ll be sure to tweet those too. My goodness, am I new at this.

 

*aj

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5 Lessons I Learned in 2015

5 Lessons I Learned in 2015

Hello, everyone! Happy New Year!

 

Wow, I can’t tell you how good it feels to be back to blogging again. It’s only been two weeks, but man, I really missed it!

 

A quick shout-out to all my readers. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be writing. It fills me with such joy to have such amazing feedback day after day and week after week. Thank you for making 2015 – my first calendar year blogging – a huge success.

 

Currently, we’ve hit over 100 posts, over 1,000 comments, over 10,000 page views, and over 160 subscribers. That’s pretty fantastic, in my mind. Keep sharing my posts with your friends!

 

2015 was a very interesting year for me. My faith grew tremendously, and I say that if it wasn’t for this blog, I wouldn’t have grown as much as I have. Here are five lessons I learned in 2015, through the ups and downs.

 

Number One: Life Isn’t Always Easy or Predictable.

 

In my life, things tend to happen without my prior planning or consent. Things just happen, and I have learned to roll with it all. This past year, I’ve learned that though life isn’t predictable, and accidents really do happen, God is unchanging. He doesn’t change like shifting shadows, as it says in the book of James. That’s such a relief for me when everything around me is going crazy!

 

Number Two: God Helps Us Through Everything.

 

I experienced some quite challenging things this year, but looking back, I realize how blessed I am. Not blessed because everything was a breeze, but because God helped me through. Time and time again, God has shown me how faithful He is, even when I am not. Every trial in my life has helped me to put my trust in Him more than I had before. In that way, I am so blessed.

 

Number Three: God Loves to Give Us Good Things.

 

I’ve been blessed with getting to know some online Christian friends very well. I consider this such an amazing gift from God. Just because you haven’t met someone in person, doesn’t mean that they don’t exist! I’ve gotten to Skype, use Google Hangouts, and FaceTime with some absolutely wonderful people this year who have encouraged me in my life and faith. If you are one of these awesome girls, please know that you are so appreciated. Hugs all around.

 

Material and non-material things have a way of brightening up our lives, and God knows this. He loves to give us good gifts because He loves us so much.

 

Number Four: The Gospel is Incredible.

 

Growing up in church, I never saw the Gospel as more than something cool and “I’m glad I get to go to Heaven now.” This past year, in dissecting chunks of the Bible, I’ve learned not to take it for granted. I see it now as such a miracle – the miracle that it is – that Jesus chose to came to earth to save us, when we did not deserve any grace or mercy. We were rebellious and sinful, and He yet offers us forgiveness. Honestly, how can we take that for granted?

 

Number Five: Joy is Not Circumstantial.

 

Joy comes from knowing the love of Jesus, and not from circumstances. We all have things that go on in our daily lives that we can let crush us. Should we become downcast because of unfortunate circumstances? No way. Joy is more than an emotion. Joy is a choice to accept God’s amazing love for us and find peace in all circumstances. Despite whatever may go on, we can have joy. That is amazing.

 

I plan on posting a survey about Scattered Journal Pages soon. I’d like to hear your honest feedback on how I can make my blog better.

 

Now it’s your turn. What have you learned this year? I love reading comments, and whether you’ve been here for two minutes or two months, I can assure you that I read and respond to all comments you leave. I love hearing about your lives! Thanks for letting me share my life with you, and thanks for opening up your lives to me!

 

Happy New Year, everyone. God bless you all.

 

*aj

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Are We Happy Yet?

Are We Happy Yet 

This is part 3 in my impromptu Christmas series. See the first two parts also, Peace on Earth and Christmas is Love.

 

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”

 

Yes, it is wonderful, but where are we basing this wonder on? What makes us so merry? (Abrupt introductions, anyone?)

 

Joy and happiness are hugely discussed when it comes to Christmas. I mean, hello, we try to make ourselves as happy as possible with gifts for ourselves and others, food, by hanging out with family and loved ones, and making Christmas as magical as we possibly can.

 

What’s not to like?

 

Well, I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, I honestly don’t. But with all this happiness that we try to attain, there is a high price. This price is us missing out on what Christmas is all about. *Cue ominous music*

 

I will be the first to tell you that gifts and presents are fabulously wonderful. Shredding wrapping paper to find new cool things in the name of a holiday celebration is wondrously great.

 

But have you ever noticed how unhappy we get after Christmas? All this work we’ve put into one day of the year – and it is OVER. DONE. Adios, Pablos. No more Christmas for you.

 

By looking past Jesus to the presents and food and people, we give up lasting, substantial happiness for a cheap knock-off, and we don’t even see it. We tell ourselves that Christmas is supposed to be all about happiness, but as we bend over to pick up the last scraps of tissue paper embedded in the carpet and take the ornaments off of the tree, we think, is this really it?

 

Maybe you’re not as dramatic as I am. But I do know this: We get so caught up in all the hoopla and huzzah of Christmas, that it can end up as a huge letdown on December 26th when it’s all over. So much for happiness.

 

See, friends, Christmas does not come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. – Thank you Dr. Seuss, for that lovely quote from How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It’s very true.

 

You can’t buy enough happy to make Christmas a good one. Really, you can’t. When I was younger, Mom took me to the beach and gave me some shovels and let me dig. Dig and dig and dig I did.

 

Me: If I kept digging down far enough, where will I end up?

Mom: Probably in China.

Me: *digs for a while* Am I at China yet?

Mom: I don’t think quite yet. The world’s pretty big, you know.

Me: Do I see a light down there? Is it China?

Mom: Honey, I think you’re seeing a reflection of the sun. But keep on digging. You might actually get there.

Me: Okay. *amuses myself with digging for hours*

 

You can imagine how the rest of that went. Needless to say, I never did find China, but I learned an important lesson.

 

You can attempt to dig through an impossible situation, or you can find the existing way. If I really wanted to go to China, I should have taken a plane, not a shovel.

 

Now here is the hopefully-sane translation of my wacky little story.

 

Every Christmas, most of us dig around looking for happiness, myself included. If we just go to enough parties…just get enough presents…just spend enough time with others…just make enough yummy foods…just do this or that…THEN and ONLY THEN will we be actually, truly happy. The sad thing is, that year after year of doing this, and becoming discontent, we still tell ourselves that it’ll make us happy.

 

And so the cycle repeats. And we become insatiable. But this shouldn’t be so.

 

We say Christmas is a time for happiness, and we are absolutely right. We can be happy, just like we can go to China. But we get there a different way, instead.

 

If we want happiness, we have to accept the real meaning of Christmas. Why do we even celebrate it in the first place?

 

We celebrate Christmas because of the birth of the Messiah. Jesus. But not simply the fact that he was born, but because of what that signified. It signified that 1) the GOD of all things EVER came to us in human form because He LOVES us, 2) we are not forgotten and forsaken even though deep down, we do the wrong things CONSTANTLY, and 3) the satisfaction and happiness we all search for has been FULFILLED. He came to give us a new nature, to put off our sin and make us bright and shiny.

 

What do we all yearn for? Meaning in life. Happiness. Contentment. Or society has contradicted this by giving everyone a big case of Holiday Discontentment. However, we do not have to keep it this way.

 

By looking at the birth of Jesus for what it truly is, and not just something to put on the mantle, we can find that satisfaction. By accepting His amazing love and sacrifice for us, in that will we find happiness. If you want to read more about this (and why I refer to this lasting happiness as ‘joy’) then check out this post.

 

By seeing the significance of who Jesus is – God in flesh, who dwelt among us – we can really and truly be happy.

 

And now, a passage to close with.

 

Philippians 2:5-10

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

 

Have a wonderful day, friends. Merry Christmas once again.

 

*aj

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Christmas is Love.

Christmas is Love. 

This is part 2 in my impromptu Christmas series. See the first part also, Peace on Earth.

 

World,

 

As we approach Christmas, we reminisce over many things. Some material items, others ideas. So much do we relish the idea of love.

 

I love Christmas music. Honestly, I do. I love all kind of music, but there’s nothing more heartwarming than beautiful voices singing songs we know and love, and everyone celebrating Jesus’ birth – whether they know it or not.

 

It’s really cool.

 

Love is a prevalent theme in so many Christmas songs. Turn on the radio and you’ll hear,

 

“Last Christmas, I gave you my heart…”

 

“Baby, all I want for Christmas is you…”

 

Yeah, yeah, I get it. Love is wonderful and complicated and all that. Christmas can be a romantic time.

 

However, I think we overemphasize the wrong kind of love at Christmas. People, we have the rest of the year to sing love songs. Romance is a thing, but it only exists because of God’s amazing love for us, His children.

 

And where did love first come from?

 

CHRISTMAS! (Didn’t see that coming, did ya?)

 

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

 

1 John 4:7

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.”

 

This is ultimate love because God sent His Only Son to us. Not just to chill out on earth as a baby, but to die for our sins.

 

I stated a minute ago that love is a huge focus at Christmas. Romantic love, namely. I have a speculation as to why this is so.

 

When we look at the Baby in the Manger, that’s all we see. We see the Baby: meek and mild little Jesus. Is that exciting? Many of us think not. So, “Christmas is a time of love” – well, that’s what sells merchandise. “It’s the holiday season” – warm and fuzzy feelings envelop us. Or maybe it’s the sweaters? Regardless, we idolize love at Christmas time because it feels so right – and our culture embraces it wholeheartedly.

 

Our society has gotten used to looking at the manger and stopping there. This, I believe, is why so many of us miss the whole meaning of Christmas. We see Jesus, and politely comment, “that’s nice,” while distractedly browsing the latest StuffMart catalogs and making wish lists.

 

We don’t see the significance of the manger.

 

The Christmas story isn’t made up of one night in a stable with Jesus, Mary and Joseph, some angels, and shepherds. It is the kick-off of the GREATEST game-changing events in history – ultimately, where our sins are forgiven once and for all.

 

Isaiah 9:6

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

 

Jesus was born to demonstrate God’s love for us. His love for us sinners, at our darkest hour. The Baby was only the beginning. We shouldn’t stop there and say, “Oh, Jesus, how cute. Can we open presents now?”  Because that isn’t what it’s about.

 

Can you picture an Almighty God, Holy Creator of the Universe, seeing His sinful children and saying in spite of their rebellion, “I love them and I want them to know Me”? That’s what Christmas shows. That He DID say that to us and we know that because of Christmas.

 

This is love.

 

1 John 4:10

“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

 

His love is the model for us. True love is His unconditional love for us, when He had every right to be angry with us and could have just wiped us off the face of the earth.

 

As we celebrate Christmas this year, let us approach it with the right view of love. Not with selfish I-wants and Give-me-thats, but with a heart of gratitude for the love that we should be celebrating.

 

The love that makes us sing in the first place.

 

Thank you LORD, for Your amazing love.

 

*aj