Just like Thanksgiving, I'm taking the rest of the week off from Too Many Books to Count. (if you were hoping to catch our short story this week, you'll have to wait — it'll be up on the 28th & 30th)
Today, I have something very simple I'd like to talk about:
Christmas
It means something different for each of us, but to me in means a few very simple, very specific things.
The miracle
Most people know this as the meaning of Christmas. It's the time when Jesus Christ came down to Earth as a babe, as a child, as one of us. Emmanuel: God became one of us. Some of you think of it as a pagan ritual that was taken over by Christianity, and yeah, that's true too. We took it, we converted it, and now it means something beautiful. It means that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.
He loved us so much that He gave.
That's pretty powerful, and pretty simple, when you think about it.
The journey
Many people also know the story of Jesus Christ and what He went on to do with His life. He was the fulfillment of prophecy in every way, shape, and form. From the moment of His conception by the Holy Spirit to the words He spoke upon the cross, Jesus fulfilled every prophecy the Lord sent before Him. No one else in history can say that they've fulfilled that many prophecies, given by that many different prophets. Jesus did. He gave his life for us, so we could be made free, saved, changed into new creations.
God became man, for us, so we could live as new beings.
Maybe that one is a little more difficult to understand, but it's still a simple concept.
The second coming
He died. We all agree on that. Jesus died. And He rose again. That means that He'll be coming back, that He's not gone for good. And really, that's what Christmas is all about.
Yes, Christmas is about the first coming of Christ. It's about celebrating the fact that God SO loves us. But it's also a time to remember that He's coming again, and that the time is not far off. Prophecies are again being fulfilled. The time draws nearer every day.
And we can learn a simple lesson from the man who came for us, the man who will come again:
Love.
It's what we're called to do, each and every one of us. We're called to love. First and foremost. That's what Christianity is all about. It all boils down to love.
God so LOVED that He gave.
We so LOVE that we give in return.
I give my all to Him, every day of my life. Christmas is a celebration of that, a time of love, and a time for me to remind all of you how truly and deeply I love you.
I love you.
When I type that word in those little brackets, I mean it every time.
I love you.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
[love]
{Rani Divine}
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