I received Christmas greetings from a friend today, and the e-mail subject line was "Marry Christmas". This struck me as funny: I don't really know anyone named Christmas, so who was I supposed to marry? I mentioned it to a friend, and she did know a girl named Christmas, but being female, I was not about to seek her out to marry her.

So, in what I wrote back to my friend, I mentioned, "Maybe it is time to marry Christmas into all the other things going on in life."

That got me thinking: How do we marry Christmas into all the other things going on in life? I guess that depends on what the deepest meanings of Christmas are, and how they can be applied to all of our lives. How could we have Christmas all year long?

It's all about giving: gifts, time, energy, love. Love? Whose love? My love? God's love? Ah … it was God's love that started Christmas, was it not?

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall have everlasting life. (NKJV)

It was God's love for each one of us that led Him to give His only Son. It was that Son's love for us that led Him to give His life for each one of us so that we could have everlasting life. It is God's love that draws us to Him. It is God's love that forgives our sins when we repent. It is God's love that motivates us to forgive others for their sins against us. Through His love poured out within us by His Holy Spirit, we can reach out to others with those gifts of time, energy, and love. And that is how we can marry Christmas with all the other things going on in life.

Prayer: Lord, we thank You for the love that You have shown us. Through showing us Your love, You have taught us how to love. Help us, Lord, to continually show Your love and to marry Christmas with everything we do all year round. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

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About the author:

Ruth Burkholder <ruth.burk@sympatico.ca>
Stouffville, Ontario, Canada
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