Christmas tidings I

..........Remembering the good times.....

Wowser! It's Christmas!
Fun and games!
Meet me under the mistletoe!
Do I have to wait till Christmas to open it?

Christmas is one of our most joyous holidays in the Christian calendar, is it not? We remember the birth of our Savior, the angels singing, the shepherds' adoration...it's a time that we love to share our blessings and be with the people we love. Giving and forgiving. Thinking of just how much God loves us.

As Christians, we love to remember the good times in Jesus' life, don't we? We get chills telling about the Nativity, but we tend to forget that shortly after His birth, Christ and His family were fleeing from Herod's army. We love to tell others about His wisdom, love, and healing, but we pass over His suffering. We tend to forget about or gloss over the price He paid for our sins.

He was born in a manger and was destined to be mocked, beaten, tortured, and then sentenced to die a slow, excruciating death by crucifixion -- all at the hands of those He came to save.

To be honest, maybe it's because as humans, we just can't quite get our heads around it. God knew what would happen to His Son. He even told Isaiah and many other prophets about the suffering He would endure. God already knew that the very creatures He had created would crucify Him. And yet, Jesus lowered Himself to feel physical pain and suffering and humiliation. He allowed mere humans to beat Him and mock Him. The One Who has ALL the power in the universe humbled Himself to die at our sinful, hateful hands.

Yes, God knew all of this ahead of time. But He loved us so immensely that He sent His Son, one third of the Trinity, to suffer, so that we could one day spend eternity with our heavenly Father.

Even if we can't fully understand it, for His ways are higher than our ways, we can realize this: Christmas is the story of love.
Today, let's remember the price that God paid for us, because of how much He loves us. And then let's share that love with everyone we can!