A Christmas of Love
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David
a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall
find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly
there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and
saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
(Luke 2: 11 - 14 KJV)
On the most joyous day of all, the day when our Saviour was born, unconditional
love and forgiveness came into the world. Just as the heavenly host praised God
for the birth of Jesus, we should also praise God for the birth of Jesus. Our
hearts should be filled with joy to know that God loves us so much that He sent
His beloved Son to die on the cross to save us from our sins and become our
personal Saviour.
As we celebrate the birthday of Jesus, let us give the gift of unconditional
love and forgiveness to our families, to our loved ones and to everyone that we
see. Christmas is a time of giving love. It is not a time to buy gifts; it is a
time to give from our hearts. So many people don’t have money to buy presents
and that makes them feel very sad. All of us can give unconditional love and
forgiveness to one another.
One of the greatest presents we can give our family and our loved ones is to
turn off the television set and spend time talking to them. We have allowed the
television set to come between us and our families. When I was working in a
nursing home in Texas several years ago, I overheard a conversation between two
of the residents. They were sharing things that happened in their childhood.
One of the residents said, “I am so glad that we didn’t have television when I
was a child at home. When I was growing up, we talked to each other. People
don’t know how to talk to one another any more or if they do, they care more
about watching the television than they do about each other.” I remember several
times many years ago that I wanted to talk to my Mother about something but she
said “Be quiet. Don’t interrupt this program. I want to see this program.”
I am just as guilty of doing that as my Mother was. I also didn’t want to be
interrupted or disturbed when I was watching something on television. There have
been a lot of times in the past that I was watching a good family movie on
television and when the telephone rang, I let the caller leave a message on the
answering machine. May God have mercy on us and forgive us for putting the
television set before our loved ones.
As you celebrate the birthday of Jesus, open your heart and give the gifts of
unconditional love and forgiveness to one another. You can give your family a
lot of expensive gifts but if you are harboring resentment, bitterness,
unforgiveness, and criticism in your heart toward them, your gift means nothing
because it does not come from your heart.
Allow Jesus to take away the things in your heart that displease Him and fill
your heart with the things that make Him happy. Above all, don’t forget to tell
Jesus how much you love Him and how much you appreciate Him on His birthday.
Don’t forget to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. Thank You so much, Heavenly
Father, for the baby Jesus who grew up to become the Saviour of the world!
Joanne Lowe
December 11, 2008
joannelowe8@cox.net
www.joanne-freedominjesus.blogspot.com