Every person wants to be loved and feel special, and many of the ways people try to be special are so that they can be loved. Just look at what is popular around us. If someone is seen as special because they are a singer or movie star, they are more lovable. Maybe someone is special and loved because they are an athlete. People try to be special through their job or hobbies. Sometimes, the love of family and friends can feel conditional, so people feel like they must be special in some way to earn that love. It’s almost as though there is a formula for life that says, “I will be loved if…” Then we fill in the blank with what will help us to be loved, so the list could go on and on describing ways that people live their lives in order to be loved.
Maybe you can think of ways you live your life to be loved. Christmas changes all of this. Yes, Christmas is a profound celebration of God becoming like us to make us like God, but at its simplest message, Christmas should prove to us beyond any shadow of doubt that we are loved. It seems so hard for most of us to truly believe how much we are loved, but the Good News of Christmas tells us that we do not need to live our life to be loved. We can now live out our lives because we are loved.
If we let it, this little phrase, “Because we are loved,” can transform every aspect of our lives. Instead of trying to be special in order to be loved, we can trust we are already special because we are loved. Because we are loved, we can love others. Because we are loved, we want to be free of sin. Because we are loved, we can forgive and let go of judgment, and we can be freed from the pains of the past and the fears of the future. Because we are loved, we can live lives of gratitude.
This Christmas, I pray that we truly know God’s love for us. He came to us to make His love known (1 John 4:9). He came to us, not because we earned it and cleaned ourselves up, but while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). He came to us to love us and make us His friends (John 15:9-17). There are so many beautiful reasons why He came to us at Christmas.
This Christmas, if we’ve been living from the phrase, “To be loved, I will…”, I pray that we can shift to the phrase, “Because I am loved, I will…” Starting today, try putting this little phrase in front of everything you think, say, and do. Say to yourself, “Because I’m loved by God, I will…” then fill in the blank for every thought, and every word, and every action of your day.
Merry Christmas to all! God loves you. I am convinced of this because Christ is born! Glorify Him!
Originally published in the Holy Apostles E-Bulletin
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