Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.
Psalm 34:8 (NIV)
Series: Hope for the Holidays
Sitting in the quietness of my home writing this message, I am watching our first snowfall of the season. The most perfect bright red Cardinal flew onto my bird feeder and all I could do was stare at it. Something about this sweet little bird finding his food in what, to him, could have been a snowstorm. He took his time picking through the many choices of seeds and, once satisfied, he flew off to his next adventure. Those few moments of just sitting in my office chair watching him were so peaceful, it left me wanting more. More sweet moments during this miraculous Christmas season.
Candles burning, cookies baking, tree lights flickering, and Christmas carols playing are all such sweet sensations. But in the middle of all the holiday dashing, the treasure of these simple pleasures of the season fades into the background too quickly. We find much to do, and little time to revel in the mystery of what Christmas truly offers us. Forgetting that we often find the most precious joy in the smallest of the details, we hit the ground running and then keep on running right past them. What are some of your special memories of the simpler things that bless your holiday season? Spend a few moments reminiscing about them and how meaningful they were and can still be today.
I remember taking part in cookie exchanges with a small group of women from my church. We would all bake dozens of cookies and then meet up to have an afternoon of fun at one of our homes. You brought one kind of cookie with you, but brought many varieties home with you. It was a great way to stock your holiday trays with goodies. Taking part in this was so rewarding if I took my time and made sure I didn’t over schedule the week leading up to this day. Spoiler alert: I barely ever did. It didn’t remove the joy from gathering, but it stole a little peace in the process. Since then, I have learned to embrace my baking days, almost stress free, and I look forward to sharing my creations each year. But, as delicious as those treats taste, there is one thing that remains much sweeter than any cookie we bake, and that is God’s love for us.
Here are some sweet reminders of this truth for you to meditate upon:
We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. (1 John 4:16 NASB)
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us reveals the fragrance of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing (2 Corinthians 2:14-15 NASB)
We have a tremendous opportunity to point others to Christ in this season (and every season). God, through His Holy Spirit, allows us to be a sweet extension of Him to a world that desperately needs to know Him. When we share His love with others and choose to share the gospel to spread the knowledge of God, we become a pleasing fragrance to Him. When others receive Him as Lord and Savior, it is a time of rejoicing in Heaven and portrays a genuine reflection of His love through our lives.
In Ephesians 3:17-19 (NASB) Paul writes about God’s indescribable love for us:
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to all the fullness of God.
How truly special is this? How wonderful that we are loved so dearly and because of this love, we can love others better and more fully. Amid your holiday preparations, we hope that the love of Christ will flow from your heart to those around you. May you realize more deeply the sweetness of God’s love for you and may your Christmas season be abundantly blessed.
Scripture References: Psalm 34:8; 1 John 4:16; 2 Corinthians 2:14-15; Ephesians 3:17-19