Gift Love

The simplest way for love to come to life, is when we give. And not just money, not just stuff, but when we give ourselves,

our time,
our attention,
our service,
it’s when we sacrifice for someone else.

That’s when love comes to life. For God so loved the world, that he gave.

So this Christmas, as you’re celebrating traditions, maybe some of you are creating traditions. What if this Christmas became the best Christmas, not because of what we received, what we got, or where we went, but because we gave.

Jesus knew that this was the best way to live. One day he said,

It is more blessed to give than to receive.

This week I came across a study, that John Ortberg writes about, in which high school students, who were tested below grade reading level, were randomly assigned to one of two groups. The first group helped tutor younger children, and the other group didn’t do anything. No serving, no volunteer work. The students in the group that tutored ended up being twelve times more likely to graduate from high school than the students in the non-serving group. High school students involved in volunteering are less likely to drop out, less likely to use drugs, less likely candidates for teenage pregnancy, more likely to graduate, more likely to have a higher level of esteem, and more likely to go on to college.

It is better to give than to receive, because that’s what love always does – it gives itself away.

What a great thing to remember this time of year, when we are inundated with images and stories and ads, that brainwash our minds with a consumerist,

want more,
spend more,
buy more,
charge more,
get more way of life.

It is more blessed to give, than to receive.

That’s what Christmas love is all about.