– 1 Timothy 3:12
Are you ready for Christmas: tree up, cards signed, and gifts ready to wrap? If not, don’t feel bad. I’m sure you’re way ahead of me. Just this morning, I picked up the soggy Halloween pumpkin from our front porch and launched it into the compost pile. Upon landing, it collapsed into a flat, gooey heap of orange mess. I could relate. This time of year, with holiday pressures squeezing me from all sides, I too feel flattened into a hot mess.
Why does December seem to move faster than all the other months? I’m especially far behind this year. Except for a few cards from my high-functioning friends, my house has no sign of Christmas. My list of things to do, people to connect with, and places to go gets longer every day. I plopped down on the couch this morning and wondered “where is the love, peace, and joy the season? Where is God in the midst of our dizzy December days?”
My first thoughts were critical. As soon as the Laura bashing began, I began to pray. Immediately, in God’s presence, I felt the love and reassurance I desperately needed. I reached my hands out, with palms up, and confessed that I had too much to do and asked God what I needed to prioritize.
As I exhaled and waited for the Lord to direct my day, one word came to mind: LOVE.
Think about that for a minute. What if we were to focus our distracted hands and minds on love?
I picked up my long list of Christmas chores and circled what would increase love in my life. I moved visiting a friend who just had surgery to the top. Next came taking my daughter out for dinner, then finishing my Bible Study. That means the Christmas decorations won’t come out for another week and our Christmas cards might arrive in 2017. But that’s ok because by prioritizing love, God brought peace into my heart. Bonus love and peace!
Then John 3:16 came to mind. I’ve known this verse since I was a child: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Just last week I heard David Platt, author of the book, Radical, explain how “radical” is was for Jesus to speak those words.
Up until then, God’s people had been the Israelites. God loved, protected, and guided them. They were His children. The notion that God loved those outside of the Jewish Nation as well was unheard of. This message of inclusion resonated with God’s people. His love went viral when He sent Jesus to earth.
Christmas is when God began His divine rescue mission, a great work on earth that He will be faithful to complete.
In 1 Timothy 3, Paul is praying for Timothy and the people of Thessalonica; for their love to grow and overflow onto one another. That is my prayer for all of us during this Christmas season.
Heavenly Father,
Awaken our hearts to Your boundless love.
Fill our hearts with a love that overflows onto others.
This Christmas, may we remember Your love and prioritize love every day.
In Jesus’ Name I Pray,
Amen
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