My Christmas Wish for You

I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.—Ephesians 3:16-19 (NIV)

Do you remember how it felt to know someone significant loved you? It became the source of a secret smile and a spring to your step. It was a steadying force when everything else was shaken.

If I could give you anything for Christmas, it would be an understanding of how much God loves you. His love for you isn’t based on who you are, though you are infinitely precious in His sight. It is based on who He is. He is love, and He wants to flood your heart and your consciousness with an awareness of His love. 

I believe love is the prevailing theme of Christmas. 

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.—John 3:16

In His love for us, God left behind his heavenly glory for a manger and exchanged his royal robes for swaddling cloths. He traded the honor and dignity due him for humility and servitude. 

He became intimately familiar with our struggles (Hebrews 4:15) but rose above them. He walked among us and had compassion upon us, fallen as we are, and lifted us out of the pit from which we could not lift ourselves. Finally, He poured out His life as He took upon Himself our deaths. 

His is no ordinary love. It is a love that transcends logic and  understanding. It sees beyond failures and disappointments. It cannot be won, and it cannot be lost.

His is a love that transforms. It has transformed me, and it will transform you. When we begin to grasp God’s love—a process I expect will take all eternity—it causes all else to fall away. It becomes an anchor and a refuge, a fixed point on the undulating horizon of our lives.

Maybe you don’t feel worthy of that kind of love. But know this: The God who created you sees your worth and paid a great price because of it. You are the reason He came to earth. You are the reason He suffered, died and rose again. Despite all He has done on your behalf, He does not stand accusing. He stands with open arms, waiting to welcome you into His family.

I pray you come to know His love—that it becomes your anchor and your hope, as it is mine. 

Merry Christmas, my friends. May this holiday be filled with God’s presence.