The Love of Christmas: More Than Just a Feeling

As the holiday season envelops us in its warm embrace, it's easy to get caught up in the twinkling lights, festive decorations, and the hustle and bustle of gift-giving. But at the heart of Christmas lies something far more profound and transformative – love. Not just any love, but a radical, divine love that has the power to change the world.

Imagine a woman known simply as "Ama" (meaning "mother") who filled stadiums with thousands of people. Her message wasn't revolutionary, nor did she offer self-help advice. What drew people to her? Hugs. Yes, you read that right. Ama became known as the "hugging guru," estimated to have given over 30 million hugs in her lifetime. While this might sound trivial to some, it speaks volumes about the human need for love and connection.

This story serves as a poignant reminder of the power of love – a theme that resonates deeply with the Christmas narrative. From Genesis to Revelation, love appears over 550 times in Scripture, revealing itself as the driving force behind God's actions. It was love that prompted creation, love that set in motion a divine rescue plan for humanity, and love that led God to enter our world in human form through the birth of Jesus.

The apostle Paul beautifully captures this in Galatians 4:4-5: "But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children." This passage unveils the heart of the Christmas story – God's radical love responding to humanity's radical evil.

But what exactly is love? In a world where the word is tossed around carelessly, from expressing affection for family to a fondness for fast food, it's crucial to understand what real love looks like. The Christmas story provides us with a clear picture, and the apostle John elaborates on this in 1 John 4:7-12.

From this passage, we can distill three essential truths about love:

1. Love Shows Up
God didn't just send good wishes or a self-help program. He sent Himself in the person of Jesus. Real love doesn't stay distant; it draws near. It's present in times of need, joy, and sorrow. This Christmas, we're invited to consider: Who in our lives needs us to show up with God's love?

2. Love is Sacrificial
John writes, "This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins." The essence of true love is sacrifice. It's easy to claim we love something or someone, but our willingness to sacrifice reveals what we truly cherish. Christmas challenges us to examine our hearts: What are we willing to sacrifice for the things and people we claim to love?

3. Love is God's Strategy
Perhaps most profoundly, John tells us that when we love one another, we make the invisible God visible to the world. Our capacity to love is the evidence that we are disciples of Jesus. In fact, the apostle Paul goes so far as to say in 1 Corinthians 13 that without love, even the most impressive spiritual gifts and knowledge are worthless.

This realization flips our understanding of spiritual maturity on its head. It's not about how much Bible knowledge we possess or how many church services we attend. The true measure of our spiritual growth is our capacity to love others sacrificially.

As author Lauren Winner beautifully puts it, when we engage in acts of love – whether donating clothes to those in need or supporting a struggling family – we're not just doing good deeds. We're involving ourselves "in the choreography of divine action." We're mimicking God and being shaped more into His image.

This Christmas, we're invited to participate in God's divine strategy of love. It's an opportunity to recalibrate our hearts to God's magnetic true north and recommit ourselves to loving as He loves. Here are three questions to reflect on:

1. Where is God inviting you to show up with love this season?
2. What sacrifices might God be calling you to make for the sake of love?
3. Who might see God through your acts of love?

In a world often marked by division, hurt, and selfishness, the message of Christmas reminds us that love has the power to heal, restore, and transform. It's not just a warm feeling or a sentimental notion – it's a radical force that shows up, sacrifices, and serves as God's strategy for redeeming the world.

As we celebrate this season, let's remember that at the center of Christmas is a story about a God who loves humanity so much that He was willing to show up in our messy world, sacrifice everything for us, and make love the cornerstone of His redemptive plan.

May we go forth and live in such a way that the world around us catches a glimpse of God's extraordinary love through our ordinary acts of kindness, sacrifice, and presence. For in doing so, we not only celebrate Christmas – we embody its very essence.

Here are the scripture references mentioned or alluded to in the sermon:

1. Genesis 2 (general reference to God's creation of humanity)
2. Genesis 12 (general reference to God's rescue mission for humanity)
3. Luke 1-2 and Matthew 1-2 (references to the birth of Jesus)
4. Revelation (general reference to love as the foundation of the future world)
5. Galatians 4:4-5
6. 1 John 4:7-12
7. John 13:34-35
8. 1 Corinthians 13:2
9. Genesis 3 (reference to God clothing Adam and Eve)

Additional relevant verses that align with the main themes discussed:

1. John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
2. Romans 5:8 - "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
3. 1 John 3:16 - "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters."
4. Matthew 22:37-39 - "Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
5. 1 Corinthians 13:13 - "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
6. Colossians 3:14 - "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

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