This post is for you who are not feeling the Spirit of Christmas. For you who feels unlovable. Or for you who can’t fathom what this global love fest is all about. Because that’s what Christmas really is: the global love fest. And it’s not about how lovable any of us is. No. It’s about how ginormous God’s love is towards mankind. You see, God’s love is limitless, beyond anything we can ever understand.

Christmas, this global love fest, is all about God’s love for us. He loves us so much that he became our gift. Amazing but true: God became man so he could reconcile us to him. His plan is beyond wonderful and thorough. He sent his only son into the world as a baby, to live as a human being, to die for our sins and transgressions so we could be made right with God.

Though he was God,
    he did not think of equality with God
    as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
    he took the humble position of a slave
    and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
    he humbled himself in obedience to God
    and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
(Phil. 2: 5-8, NLT)

Christmas is…

I tend to spend Christmas in awe of God and the miracle of Baby Jesus. The Holy Night seems to be a special time when eternity seems to be a bit closer to us. We just need to listen and praise the Lord for his love.

I strongly think it is a bit easier to feel God’s presence during the Christmas season. The Operation ‘Save God’s Children’ starts in earnest when the Baby Jesus is born. God gives us a Savior, that’s how much he loves us. He becomes our Savior because there is no one else who could do it.

But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. (Gal. 4:4-5, NLT)

So, even if you don’t feel like it, you are lovable. God does not love you because you’re worth it (or anyone of us). He loves you because he is love himself. Sure, we would like to earn our keep, the love we receive. But that’s not going to happen. We can only receive God’s love. It can be humbling at first. We have nothing to give to God but our hearts. But that’s all God wants.

…the global love fest

The Birth of our Savior is such an amazing event that it makes Christians a bit giddy. We want to share God’s goodness with everyone. Hence we share love and gifts during this global love fest. It’s fun for sure but it’s wise to not get so into festivities that we forget the real reason for Christmas: God’s love got a form in Jesus.

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. (1 John 4:9-10, NLT)

Now this Jesus comes to us and tells us he loves us to heaven and back. I know he proved it on the cross. So I believe him. I thank him. And I praise him. Why don’t you join the global love fest? Jesus loves you to heaven and back too.

Dear God,
Thank you for loving all of us to heaven and back.
We truly don’t deserve it but we dearly love it. And you.
Thank you for becoming our Gift,
for showing us what love is.
We praise you for your amazing plan to rescue us.
Thank you for sending Jesus,
thank you for inspiring the Global Love Fest Celebrations.
Lord, bless us and our gatherings with friends and family.
In Jesus’ precious name we pray,
Amen

P.S.

I hope you have time this Christmas to stop at the Manger of Jesus and embrace the Christmas joy. The Birth of Jesus is a remarkable event for all. Because of Jesus, we can be freed from our past mistakes and welcome the future with God. So I wish you a very Merry Christmas indeed! The Holy Night changes everything: it brings hope to hopeless, joy to joyless, and love to unlovable. Hallelujah!