Love In Season

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13

I posted that poem yesterday and it's had me thinking ever since. I've been taking a really laid back approach to Christmas this year. Normally by this time I have dozens of cookies and candies made, and I am caught up in hard-core Christmas shopping and wrapping. We also have activities going on and we're busy with this and that... but this year, not so much. Yet I look at the calendar and at first a part of me gets nervous and riddled with anxiety because I haven't done any of that yet! There's only two weeks to Christmas, and we are not ready for our so-called usual stuff.

But you know what? It doesn't matter. Because instead of focusing on the gifts this year, we're focusing on the real gift- Jesus. Instead of spending all my time in the kitchen baking and missing much of the holiday, I'll make up a few things, but I think this year we're just going to keep it simple. The thing is, despite our best intentions to remember what Christmas is about, it's so easy to get caught up in trying to make the best traditions for our kids. It's so easy to think that I have to have everything just so or the kids won't enjoy Christmas. And this year... I'm just not going to do it. Instead of being busy, we're going to enjoy children, and spend our time talking about what Christmas means to us. Oh, they'll still get gifts, but the tally will be far less this year, with much of their gifts being something to share or for the family together.

"The greatest of these is love". We're forgetting the love that our God had for his people that he sent his son to earth for us. Love is the reason for Christmas, it's why we celebrate, and it's so much more important to remember that and celebrate that love, than to celebrate presents and cookies. I am reminded of the Grinch... at the end of the story, the Grinch discovers that Christmas isn't all about the gifts or the roast beast. "Christmas," he thought "doesn't come from a store... maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."

It does mean a little bit more, and I find it somewhat amusing that a secular world embraces the story of the Grinch, which in the end, talks about one of the greatest principles in the Bible- love. It's all about love, it's about spending time with those we love, and putting aside our differences. It's about loving the unloved, and it's about sharing the love with those who need it most. It's about setting a great example of love for our children.

I'm determined that this Christmas is going to be all about love.