You Are The Reason For The Season

If a loved one has searched for that perfect meaningful gift, you are touched, moved. You might open it and say, "You shouldn't have!" But, you realize, "Wow I AM really loved." That's what God did. Maybe He shouldn't have, but He did! Wow, we are really loved! For Christmas, we don't need to aim low, we can aim high- aim as high as we can. God gives you Heaven's gift, the gift of His Son, to tell you, "I love you." Tonight during the rest of the service imagine your heart a spiritual birthing room. Ponder the birth and gift of Jesus Christ. John 3: 16 reads: "God so loved YOU that He sent his only begotten Son." Remember that old Hallmark line- when you care enough to send the very best... God did that very thing. You are the reason for the season.

One December a woman named Cathy was given a baby shower. After all was opened, she found one present left. But this one wasn't wrapped in shower paper, but in Christmas wrapping. It bore a card that said: "To my daughter."

"This is from my Mom," she announced. Inside the box was a quilt. She tried to smile as she held it up for all to see. She hoped her Mom couldn't see her face. Her mom would know this was a fake smile.

The quilt wasn't pretty. This wasn't a baby quilt- pink or blue with Teddy Bears. It was just a patchwork quilt sewn with old material with different colors and patterns.

Cathy noticed a note in the bottom of the box. It was meant to be private. But, accidently, she began to read it to all her guests. As she read out loud she learned that the quilt was made by her mom just for her. The unmatched materials were remnants of her life her mom had saved over the years. She had cut pieces of material from her daughter's baby blanket and from her first Christmas dress. There were swatches as current as the shirt she wore to the doctor when she discovered she was pregnant. She read about a patch from her mother's robe; she had laid her head on the robe when mom rocked her to sleep. There was a swatch from her Dad's flannel shirt- the one she put on whenever she jumped from the bathtub wet. Cathy kept reading about each piece from her 30 year life and now there wasn't a tear in the room. Cathy held that quilt close to her heart. What at first seemed ugly was now a piece of beauty. It was made from her life and from her Mother's love. Mom had sewn her love into every stitch of Cathy's life.

That is what I want you to know. You can feel like you're on a runaway train during Christmas. But, tonight you're here because you know Jesus is the reason for the season. When God knit Jesus together in Mary's womb, He knit His love in every stitch of Jesus' life. In the same way, God can take the remnants of your life, and piece them together, and form a beautiful quilt. Don't lower your expectations. God loves you! Receive the His Christmas present- the best Christmas gift of all. May Christ be born in the personal birthing room of your heart. For you are the Reason for the Season.