Christmas: Love, Promise And Gift

Introduction: 

Welcome my friend,

This is our fiftieth consecutive conversation here this year, it's also the last one.

Truly, it's been good each time we've been here and I'd always appreciate you for being a part of this.

We're now rounding up because it's the Christmas and end of the year season; so that we can make our preparations for the holidays.

Indeed, it's such a blessing to still be here, having lived through each day of the year, celebrating or enduring accordingly, up until now, with just a few more days left.

Let's then be optimistic that the rest of it can still be the best of it, bringing us good tidings.

Compliments of the season my friend!

Discussion:

For us believers, Christmas is a significant celebration, as we remember the birth of Jesus Christ.

Which means that beyond the excitement and euphoria of holiday, fun, travel or other things in between, we still have to acknowledge the reason for the season.

So that by doing so, we can have a healthy, satisfying and more meaningful Christmas season with everyone we'd be celebrating with.

■ The Significance Of Christmas 

The birth of Jesus Christ is the beginning of a journey that ended with his death on the cross.

It's important for us to see it this way because it points us to this sacrificial gift that he freely gave to us; offering his own life for our redemption.

This is the ultimate gift.

It's only love that can motivate a person to step in for another, bearing the consequences of their actions.

In keeping with this, we can make Christmas a season to be intentional about extending love to others, sharing ourselves with them through gifts, acts of service or simple kind gestures that show care and concern.

This is the essence of the season.

■ How This Impacts Us 

In letting His son die for us God showed that there's no limit to what He can do for us simply because He loves us.

This is our cue to believe in Him as a way of tapping into this.

All our worries, fears and despair vanish when we recognize that the God that has everything in His hands, is willing to do so much for us if only we let Him.

This changes how we see things, because it means that we're indeed worthy and special enough.

If the almighty God considers us worth dying for, so that he can initiate a relationship with us, who then should we allow to treat us like thrash?

If our maker considers us a masterpiece, then it means that we're his beautiful work of art, uniquely molded to bring glory to his name.

This is why we're all different.

So that we can show off in our own way; according to our unique talents, abilities or personality, without trying to be someone else.

■ How This Impacts Our Relationship With Others

For those of us that are traditionally used to celebrating Christmas together as a family, this can be a hard time if we're not really on good terms with some family members.

Many times, things that have been said or done in the past could have left unresolved hurt that just resurfaces everytime we find ourselves in the same space as them.

This is unhealthy because it affects our peace of mind.

Therefore this Christmas, at least for the selfish reason of setting our own minds free of the anger and hate from their mistreatments, we can give them our forgiveness.

This is a gift for them as much as it is for ourselves.

Unforgiveness eats us up from within, denying us the chance to enjoy the benefits of having a thriving relationship with the ones closest to us.

So when we offer reconciliation, we present ourselves the opportunity to squash things and move on.

This is a good foundation to build on, if there's a need to still relate closely or exist without much closeness, and with no animosity towards each other.

Also, this season we're employed to give each other our patience and understanding.

This way we can avoid some of the emotional tension and friction that creep in when different people with varying opinions, behaviors and needs come together.

■ How This Impacts Our Spending 

The holiday is a good time to unwind, relax, enjoy and have fun.

Yet doing so at the risk of running into debts wouldn't be the smartest thing to do.

In the spirit of the celebrations, it's possible to run into reckless spending but if we're going to regret this when the holiday is done, then maybe it's not worth it.

We can still have a good time without breaking the bank, focusing more on strengthening our bonds and creating meaningful memories together.

■ The Promise

Very recently I read a post ridiculing the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ, questioning how a virgin could bear a child.

Well, maybe there would have been some sense to that, were it not for the fact that his life was already written.

The birth of Jesus Christ didn't happen all of a sudden, there was an expectation of him.

There was the prophecy of a savior, born in a manger after the virgin had conceived.

This makes his virgin birth a distinguishing feature.

The life of Jesus Christ came as a fulfillment of the prophecy preceding it, which shows that God's words always come to pass, sometimes long after they've been uttered.

His promises are unfailing and unless we refuse to keep our own side of it, they'll surely come to pass.

God makes both conditional and unconditional promises and whether the conditional ones happen for us is dependent upon our beliefs.

The birth of Jesus Christ to eventually die for our sins is an example of such unconditional promises of God that have already come through.

Yet, whether we enjoy the benefits of His salvation is dependent upon us accepting him as our God.

Summary:

Love, Promise and Gift.

This is our theme for Christmas.

God in His love offered us the gift of His son to redeem us from our sins.

In this, He proves to us that there's nothing good for us that he'd ever hold back from giving to us.

We just have to trust Him to do so at the right time.

God promised us that believing in His son gives us eternal life and if He's already kept one promise, we can trust Him on this one for when He returns.

Merry Christmas my friend and see you next year.

Master Apprentice.

www.x.com/truekingmaker