When our youngest moved in with her older brother to attend college in St. Cloud, he gave her a can of pepper spray for self-protection, but only after first trying it out on himself – twice, because he missed his eyes with the first shot – to confirm that it would actually work. Our son found that pepper spray does indeed work very well.
Now that’s love. I mean, who gives his sister pepper spray without being sure of its effectiveness?
Our son is hilarious, and you never know what he’s going to do, but love surely will find a way to express itself in action, and God has demonstrated His love for us by wanting to take care of us in this life and assure us of our place with Him in eternity.
Christmas – the real reason that we celebrate – is a beautiful example of God’s love in action. It’s a time I find myself meditating on what was probably one of the first Bible verses I learned as a child: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
We all know that verse, right? Perhaps because it is so well-known and often used, we tend to gloss over the profoundness of its simple message: God loves us. Because He loves us, He gave. God gave that which was most precious to Him – His son. And in giving His son, He gave us the blessing of spending eternity with Him after walking victoriously through this life in His strength.
Wow. Like the purity and wonder of a newborn baby, the message of John 3:16 is so simple but so awesome.
God’s not asking us to take a shot of pepper spray in the eyes for Him, but maybe we could spend some quiet time reflecting on His wonderful gift and let Him know that we’re thankful.
God bless you, and merry Christmas!
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