Love Came Down At Christmas

As we prepare for Christmas, sometimes I wonder if we have allowed the Savior to be stolen from our celebrations. I say this because “Merry Christmas” has been replaced with “Happy Holidays”, businesses exclude Christmas by saying “holiday sale” and when someone asks if you are ready for Christmas what they really mean is “have you done all your shopping.”

I realize that there is a physical or cultural aspect of Christmas that involves decorating our homes, putting up a tree, buying presents and eating and drinking. I am sure many of you have put in a lot of time to do these things but by this same time tomorrow, it will all be over. It will come to an end because anything earthly is temporary and lasts only for a season.

I am not finding fault with these family traditions or our children’s fantasies with Santa Claus because giving to one another and loving one another are certainly compatible with the gospel. But there is a weightier spiritual aspect of Christmas that is often neglected and that is Emmanuel came to be with us and live in us. In other words, love came down at Christmas!

Our God in heaven started the gift giving tradition but it wasn’t a few boxes wrapped in color paper. Instead He walked down the stairs of heaven with His son in His arms as His perfect gift of love for us. He then entrusted His son to Mary and Joseph so that they may raise him to live and endure the human experience of temptation, betrayal, trials, pain, sickness, sorrow and everything else you and I have gone through so that he can put all of them on the cross and pay for it in full. And so this evening if all I do is speak about Jesus and the Manger in isolation of his whole life and sacrificial love for us, I will be doing you a disservice.

Speaking of love, John 15:13 says “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” I want to spend the rest of the time I have tonight to speak about that kind of love. Before the time of Jesus, people knew that God loved them. After creating mankind, he walked and talked with them in the garden and even though they broke His laws, he kept fighting for and protecting us humans throughout the ages. But people did not really know how much God loved them until he gave us Jesus. When Jesus came, he called us his children and told us about a place he has prepared for all those who love him. He taught us about God’s love and showed it by healing the sick, feeding the hungry, hanging out with the poor, forgiving those who did wrong and told us that we too must live in harmony and love one another. Then at His death He proved that God’s love for us is unlimited.

In other words however unworthy you may be, however sinfully you may have lived, however weak and faithless you may be and no matter how messed up we are and though we deserve eternal death, our Lord chose to die in our place because he loves us so much. That is why he came. At Christmas He came as a sacrificial lamb to free us and save us from sin and adopt us as his children forever.

Friends, God’s love for you is deeper than the oceans and higher than the mountains which means even if you do not love him, he still loves you. He loves you if you’ve been good and loves you just as much if you weren’t that good. Yes it is true that Jesus came to us long ago at Christmas and was born in Bethlehem but if he is not born in your heart and mine, then celebrating Christmas or coming to Church on that day will really do nothing for you.

I believe there must come a time in our Christian walk when we turn our backs on the things of the world and fix our eyes upon Jesus. He is the author and finisher of our faith and He alone has all the solutions for this life. He is the one who has the keys to heaven and eternal life.

God’s love is far beyond what our eyes can see. He loved us before we loved him. He loved us before we were born and will love us long after we go to the cemetery. He loved our parents before us and he will love our children after us. He loves you when you are well and loves you when you are sick. He loves you through your good times and through the bad. In fact, he gets closer to you even more when you are down and out and instead of walking beside you, he picks you up and carries you in his arms. Many Christians think that they must be good in order for God to love them. The truth is no one is good and yet he came to us because he loves us. He loves the sinner though he hates the sin.