It’s Christmas time, and there is a lot of focus on gift-giving. Now suppose I wanted to give my husband that DVD he has been wanting and hinting about. I would first have to receive that DVD in some way before I could give it to him. No matter how much he wanted it, if I didn’t first come up with it somehow, I couldn’t pass it on to him.

This is also true of the greatest gift ever given to anyone: the unconditional love of God because of the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus. There are a lot of Christians who are stumbling through life, having received Christ’ death as the payment for their sins, but not having received God’s unconditional love that now flows uninhibited toward us. Rather, they spend untold effort trying to “win” God’s favor and approval, or religiously avoiding certain things so as to not incur His wrath. The practical result of this mindset is a religious spirit that causes us to compare ourselves with each other to see who is “better”. What freedom it is to finally just humbly receive all of God’s love and favor simply because we are His! Once you’ve received God’s love, you are then, and only then, able to offer that kind of love to another. That’s the kind of love that keeps marriages together through all the various storms of life. It’s that kind of love that enables us to love the most unlovable of creatures simply because God loves them. (I should know…I’ve taught junior high for many years!) If you’ve never experienced the deep satisfaction of knowing that you are genuinely and completely loved by the Creator of the universe, don’t do another thing before you come to Him and receive that love. Then get ready to celebrate Christmas like you’ve never done before!