Scripture:  "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

So quickly, another Christmas season has crept upon us once again.  It is the time of the year
when we anticipate celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.  Yet on the other hand, it is a time of
the year when so many of us fuss over what type of gifts to give to our loved ones and friends on
Christmas day. We generally travel from store to store, mall to mall, state to state and from
catalogue to catalogue to find what we consider the perfect gift for our children, husbands, wives,
close relatives, friends, co-workers, and other people whom perhaps we consider very dear to us.

We look for the perfect wrapping paper for wrapping gifts. We seek out the fattest and biggest
Christmas tree to place in our homes with the excitement of decorating them with all sorts of
Christmas trimmings to help brighten up the season and even some of our spirits. We find
ourselves most of the times getting deeper into debt from one Christmas to another just to bring
joy and love into someone's heart.

We normally cook a huge dinner for the family to eat and enjoy, prepare ourselves for
exchanging gifts, sing Christmas carols, and watch the children get excited over their toys.  By
the time the day is over, we take a deep breath and at the same time let out a draining sigh
saying, thank God it's all over.  It is amazing how one day out of the year, Christmas day, creates
so much fussing and attract so much attention.

I have discovered that expressions of proving our love to one another on this day is so deeply
embedded in celebrating it with expressions of worldly glamour and commercialism.  So often,
many of us really forget that this day is about God, His love, and His wonderful gift to humanity.  
God gave us the perfect gift of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to save his people from their
sins.

Throughout the years, I have noticed how so many of us talk about what we gave or received
from others on Christmas day.  So many of us fail to celebrate the real meaning of Christmas.  
There is nothing wrong with giving gifts to others on Christmas.  But there is plenty wrong with
giving gifts to others without remembering, talking about, and celebrating "the reason for the
season."  Every Christian who knows Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, know that
"Jesus Christ is the reason for the season."

As Christians, how often do we talk with our loved ones and friends about God's unlimited love
for a sin sick world and the gift of His only begotten son, Jesus Christ on Christmas day?  How
many of us tell the story of how Jesus was born in a stable and laid in a manger in the lowly town
of Bethlehem because there was no room for them in the inn? On Christmas day, do we tell the
story of how the wise men followed the eastern star to the place where Christ was born,
presenting the baby Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh?  During this glorious
celebration do we tell those who surround us on this day about the narrative of how God spoke to
the shepherds who were watching their flock by night, saying "Behold, I bring you good tidings of
great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior,
which is Christ the Lord?" Do we celebrate the love of God with others and express to the saved
and un-saved, one of the most profound statements penned down in the Gospel of Saint John,
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life?" (John 3:16)  

This is the most profound expression of the love of God to all of humankind, the gift of His only
begotten Son, to be our Savior. The word "love" translated here is one of special significance.  It
means "a love that seeks to give itself away in behalf of its object."  It is a love that seeks the
best interest of its objects while seeking nothing for itself in return.  Will we seek the best
interest of others by sharing with them the love of God through our actions, words and deeds and
at the same time not look for anything back in return from another person?  Or will we give to
others with a self-seeking and selfish-motive in mind just to receive a gift back in return from
someone else, other than the expressions God's love and the gift of His son Jesus Christ?

John states the priority of God's purpose for giving us His son to a dying world in John 3:17 "For
God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might
be saved." For this reason God is declared to be the very essence of "Love," through His son,
Jesus Christ.

How are you going to express the very essence of God's unlimited love to others through your life
in Jesus Christ on Christmas day?
Pastoral Resource Ministries, Inc.
An Outreach Resource Ministry
A Ministry for the Millennium
"God's Unlimited Love" (Part 1)
Words of Inspiration for the Week of December 7, 2003
To contact
Pastor Thelma Gilbert

For more information write or call us at:
Pastoral Resource Ministries, Inc.
P.O. Box 7232, Bloomfield, CT 06002
Phone (860) 243-2168 - Fax: (860) 242-1838
email: prministrie@snet.net