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Love Like That





For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16

Love is perhaps one of the most commonly misunderstood words in the English language.

We think we know what love means, but, to be honest, we seldom understand it completely.

Ask people to define love, and you're likely to get different answers from each one.

To many, love is a warm fuzzy feeling that comes and goes.

So we love as long as we feel like it, or as long there is something in it for us.

People say I "fell" in love as though it was a hole to fall in;

something that we have no control over.

Truth is this definition makes lovely romantic stories and movies,

but if we use that definition of love,

we find a very changeable, unstable love.

However, when God defined love,

He left the divine, heaven, to become human.

He was God with human limitations.

He chose to live among people who hated him.

God chose to come to our world and live among us because his love for us consumed him.

What love!

We can not imagine a love like that.

Imagine the love that Mary and Joseph must have felt as they looked at the baby Jesus;

held him.

Even the love that Joseph demonstrated to Mary in deciding not to divorce her publicly,

and later deciding to marry her was only a shadow of the love God has for us.

The greatest act of love began with a baby in a manger.

It ended with a man on a cross.

Jesus.

This Christmas, let's give others a glimpse of the kind of love the Father has for them.

It may only be a shadow, but it will be at least a shadow.

Perhaps, in that shadow, they will find what they need,

a savior offering peace and hope.

So when things don't go like we want or hope this Christmas season,

let's remember how God showed his love in sending his son and acting in that same love.

Let's look for ways that we can show love.

Not the world's kind of unstable love, but the kind of love the Father has for them.

Give This Christmas Away"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BVGkb5bxRY
(with Amy Grant)

What if I told you?
You have the power
To give someone hope
Far beyond their wildest dreams

What if I told you it’s right there in your hands?
In your hands

It's hard to imagine
How something so small
Can make all the difference
Tear down the tallest wall

What if December looked different this year?
What if we all just

Give this Christmas away
If there’s love in your heart
Don’t let it stay there
Give this Christmas away
And your life will be changed
By the gift you receive
When you give this Christmas away

It’s feeding the hungry
It’s serving the poor
It’s telling the orphan
You’re not forgotten anymore

It’s doing what love does
Even when no one’s watching you

Give this Christmas away
If there’s love in your heart
Don’t let it stay there
Give this Christmas away
And your life will be changed
By the gift you receive
When you give this Christmas away

For God so loved the world, He gave His only son
So we could be His hands, His feet, His love
His love

What if I told you?
You have the power
To give someone hope
Far beyond their wildest dreams

What if December looked different this year?
What if we all just

Give this Christmas away
If there’s love in your heart
Don’t let it stay there
Give this Christmas away
And your life will be changed
By the gift you receive
When you give this Christmas away
Give this Christmas away
You have the power
Just give it away
Give it away, give it away
Give it away, give it away
(Give it away)
(Give Christmas away)
Give it away
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