What is it about the Christmas season that brings so much joy to the heart? Driving around town and seeing the Christmas lights shine bright stirs something within. Scrolling Instagram and watching beautiful home tours of shiny ornaments and twinkling lights brings happiness. receiving family Christmas cards in beautiful holiday outfits warms our hearts. Listening to children sing carols in Christmas plays fills us with joy. Gazing at the fire glow reflecting shadows on the stocking fills us with excitement. We feel, safe, loved, connected and together. We feel peace, joy and celebration! We feel happiness and hope!
The planning, shopping, cooking, parties, pictures, decorating and baking surround and swirl us away in a whirlwind of joy. Then suddenly it’s January. In a blink of the eye its over. Most of us are ready to get all the decor down, house declutter and start a fresh new year. Sadly, most of us in January are left exhausted, wore out, irritable and spiritually dehydrated. What happened to all that joy? the truth is happiness and joy are two different things. The hype of the season can make us happy for a moment but when its over its over. True Joy comes from loving Jesus and knowing him intimately. If you are disconnected from God our Savior .. the one true reason for the season. you will not know this lasting joy I'm speaking of.
Even Christians are guilty of this because we get so easily swept away in all the serenity not realizing that Christ is the light that we should be fixing our minds and hearts on. All the peace, joy and love we feel is a fruit of HIS Spirit and part of his character that our thirsty souls are lacking. He is the greatest gift and every good gift comes from him.
He is the perfect father who sent his precious son away from his throne to be born in a sinful world in the most humbling way possible. The king who left his crown and traded it to be born on the ground. A love so fierce and so selfless that he had to keep suffering and enduring so he could conquer death and save our sinful souls. He longs for us to experience the joy we feel at Christmas all year long. He is burning in love with his children and so selfless that he lets us choose.
We get to choose to acknowledge his life, death and resurrection. We get to choose to believe in him, love him, serve him and be intimate with him. We get to choose to honor him and put him on the throne of our hearts where he belongs. Far above the Christmas lights that will be gone in January. He is the light of the world and we have access to him every single second and yet we still choose to ignore and deny him.
True love doesn't force love. He gives us free will to choose him. What amazing grace he has given us. My prayer for us all this Christmas is this… That we Choose Jesus first. That we allow him to fill us with joy that is deep and penetrates our hearts producing life changing transformation. That we tear down our self protecting walls and allow him to LOVE us.
I pray his perfect love would cast out all fear as we invite him into every area of our hearts and homes. I pray he comforts those who are suffering this holiday and you who are struggling or hurting will listen for his whisper and hear “I suffered too”. I pray that YOU are filled with his light and will be glowing well into the new year with the love of Christ!
Merry Christmas,
Clare