The Reason for the Season


This post is participating in today's blog carnival on the word LOVE.  To read other posts, click here.

As all my friends texted holiday wishes this Christmas, one stood out.  This one seemed to go against all the "Keep Christ in Christmas" and "Jesus is the reason for the season" bumper stickers. 

This text said simply, U r the reason 4 the season.

At first I thought she wrote it incorrectly, so I read it again looking for the typo.  But, there wasn't one.

That's when it hit me: without me, there wouldn't be a need for Christmas.

Ok, so that sounds somewhat egocentric, but hang in there with me.  God is this crazy amazing being made of love.  It is out of that crazy, amazing love that he chose to step into flesh, to show us that God does love us and that he didn't abandon us to the evil that surrounds us, to bring us back to this relationship.  God, the first and greatest lover, pursues us, rescues us.  Of course not because we deserve it.  If we do things only to those who deserve it, we are not doing things out of love.  Love is reckless and wasteful and best when done without reason.  Without the object of his divine love, he would need not have needed to be born in that smelly stable cave.  He would not have needed to know hunger, cold, pain, grief, fear.  He would not have needed to suffer.

But he did all those things for me...for you.  We are the reason for the season.  Thank you, Jesus.

Comments

Glynn said…
"We are the reason for the season." You turned a cliche on its head -- and you're exactly right. Great post.
December 29, 2009 at 8:23 AM
Anonymous said…
Hey, this is awesome! That's a great way to look at it.
December 29, 2009 at 10:59 AM
Anonymous said…
I hadn't ever heard that before... great thought!

Thanks for posting, Jaime.
December 29, 2009 at 1:53 PM
Janet Oberholtzer said…
Nice ... I like this post.
And the text - U r the reason 4 the season.
December 29, 2009 at 5:14 PM
Anonymous said…
God's love truly is the greatest thing.
December 29, 2009 at 8:52 PM
Candy said…
We ARE the reason. Thanks for a great perspective!
December 29, 2009 at 11:37 PM
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