There are so many passages in the Word of God that tell us that He is motivated toward us by love. We read time and time again that Jesus came and lived among us out of the motivation of love (Philippians 2.4–8, John 3.16–17 to use two examples).
Charles Ryrie said of love that it is seeking God’s will for the person/ people that you love. From this we can say that Jesus came, lived, died, rose, and ascended all out of love for you. He was seeking to action God’s will for you by allowing you to be reconciled to God in right relationship through faith in Him.
Christmas, then, is when we pause and celebrate and commemorate the fact that He did come.
We pause and celebrate that God expressed His love for you in so powerful and real a way as to send His image to live and walk among us…and that started with Christmas, didn’t it?
Because of this what is our duty as believers at Christmas, what should we be mindful of at Christmas?
Speech – what are you talking about at Christmas? Is it the trappings of the season, or is it the reason for the season? Are you talking yourself up, or are you building others up? (1 Corinthians 14.3).
Spending – what are you spending money on and who are you spending time with at Christmas? Is it worldly and selfish pleasure and gain, or is it on and with Him? (1 John 3.16).
Selves – if someone dropped by your house on Christmas Day, would there be any explicit evidence that this is a household celebrating the coming of Jesus?
We who have heard the Good News and experienced freedom through Christ are responsible to proclaim it to others still enslaved by sin (think shepherds when Jesus was born).
Christmas is the perfect time to do that, with our speech, our spending, and our selves.
This is the message of Christmas, isn’t it: God’s expression of His love for you.
This is the message that we need to share.
It is so important that we share it with our speech, our spending, and our selves.
James Travis 