In 1970 the Jackson 5 released a popular Christmas song that, although written for secular audiences, had quite a powerful message….
“People making lists, buying special gifts
Taking time to be kind to one and all
It’s that time of year when good friends are near
And you wish you could give more
Than just presents from a store
Why don’t you give love on Christmas Day?
Oh, even the man who has everything
Would be so happy if you would bring
Him love on Christmas Day
No greater gift is there than love
People you don’t know smile and nod hello
Everywhere there’s an air of Christmas joy
It’s that once of year when the world’s sincere
And you’d like to find a way to show
The things that words can’t say
Why don’t you give love on Christmas Day?”
And the song goes on for a few more stanzas, but we all get the picture…
The best and most needed gift is love.
Some might be asking, well, what is real love? We hear people talk about how they love someone when they are fascinated with an individual. We listen to people speak of love when they are enjoying a piece of ‘ooey gooey’ molten lava chocolate cake. We even hear people talk about love when referring to their children, spouse, parents, siblings, and friends…
But what does it mean??? What we see in today’s world of confusion, miseducation, and degradation can never be classified as love, at least not in terms of what the Bible says is love.
1 John 4:7-10 sends a clear message of how you will know if you have discovered what love is:
My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.
You see in this passage it is very straightforward and to the point. If you have a relationship with the One True Living God, then you have a real love and give real love. But if you don’t have a personal relationship with Jehovah God as your Lord, then what you consider love as is mere fallacy.
Some may think, who is she to tell me whether or not I know the meaning of love? And for that questioning thought my reply is simple. The Bible says, “if you have God then you have Love… without God, there’s no love.”
Truthfully speaking, in a world where confusion, mental illness, and suicide are at an all-time high, the best gift to give is God’s love. I recall a Facebook Live that I released on Black Friday, where I told people to stay home. Keep the money that you do have, and show your children love. 1. Get creative 2. Make them a gift 3. Spend time with them doing something that they like 4. Watch a movie with them that you hate, just to say I love you. No matter what, and even though this bad acting without a storyline or plot, movie.
You see, the Father gave the world the absolute best intangible tangible gift of love: His Son Jesus, and Jesus gave His life for all to have life abundantly (John 3:16; 10:10). But many don’t know because too few are willing to give Love away.
Now I don’t want you standing in the middle of a residential street waking up the dogs, the kids, their parents, and the whole neighborhood on Christmas Day because the one that win souls is the one who is wise in their approach. But I do want you to let your light and your life speak louder than any megaphone, shofar, or public service announcement on the television. Let your life shout from the roof to the floor that Jesus Christ is alive and on the throne of your heart.
And best of all, He is still in control of this out-of-control world. Now that is the love that you can give on Christmas Day!
And That’s Your Piping Hot Cup Of tRuth!
