Leading up to the holiday season, straight through December 25, we are met with constant messages of Santa, sales, and savings. While the traditions of decorating the tree and prepping the perfect dinner are wonderful, we often overlook or take for granted the symbol of the Christmas holiday.
Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. After all, the term "Christmas" comes from the combination of the words "mass" and "Christ.” As we continue through this holiday season, Pathfinders Pastoral Care Ministries wants to remind us to take a step back from the decorations and present wrapping to remember the reason for the season.
It’s About Love
Our Father in Heaven and our Savior, Jesus Christ, are the greatest examples of love. Christmas is about allowing Christ into our hearts to transform our lives and then following Jesus’ example.
“And the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” – 1 Timothy 1:14
At the heart of what we love about the Christmas season are the ways we’ve found to make love manifest. Gifts given, treats baked, and visits made aim to show the love we feel for our family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, parishioners, and beyond.
While we focus so much on shopping, budgeting, planning, and decorating, we can often miss these simple pleasures; the blessings of loving and being loved.
It’s About Giving & Serving Others
Of course, love for one another shouldn’t be measured by the size or the price of a gift. Our Lord and Savior ministered personally to the people, lifting the oppressed, giving hope to the discouraged, and seeking out the lost. Even if you are not serving the Lord in full-time service, our opportunities to serve are limitless. Kind words and actions can lift spirits and cheer up hearts.
In our blog Why We Benefit from Serving Others, we shared, “we all have our own gifts and something to offer the world. Take a minute to consider what you bring to the table. Maybe it’s the gift of music, or food, or art. Serving others isn’t about how extravagant or large the action is; it’s about impacting the lives of others in a positive way.”
The Greatest Gift
Christmas represents the greatest gift we could receive – the birth of Jesus Christ. “Jesus was born in order to pay the price for the things we have done wrong: sin. God sent his only son to be the atonement for all our sins so that we would not be separated from God. Without Jesus, we would all die for our sins (Christianity.com).” Therefore, we must keep the true meaning of Christmas in our hearts and always at the forefront of our minds.
There’s no shame in shopping, budgeting, planning, and decorating, but this Christmas season, Pathfinders Pastoral Care Ministries reminds us to celebrate the greatest gift, and give the gifts of love and service to those around us.