Conversations to Have at Christmas

I’m going to try not to mention the “C-word” in this post.  Far too much of our energy as of late has been focused around trying to understand what a good and safe and right response to a pandemic should be when, in fact, we have far more pressing matters to be thinking about. Like how, as we move into the Christmas season, we are reminded of eternity and how we, as Christians are privy to some really good news. Christmas provides the perfect backdrop to share it!  Having opportunities to dive into the topics that matter at Christmas, it’s important that we prepare ourselves for these conversations and find the courage to strike them up.  After all – eternity is at stake.

Here are just 3 of many conversations that you could have at Christmas and why they matter.

Conversations about Hope

Where do you find hope?  Hope is what keeps us going through the good and the bad and it can be easily extinguished when we endure hardship for an extended period of time.  Have you heard about the story of Hope that we celebrate at Christmas?  This is a conversation that could go a lot of places but hopefully (no pun intended) you can point to the baby born in the manger, sent to be our replacement so that we could find peace with God.  There are a lot of people out there looking for a glimmer of hope and peace and in these, the darkest days of our calendar, we can point to the light that shines in the darkness.  “In him was life, and the life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:4-5.  This is a conversation that matters because everyone is searching for hope in one form or another and people will look in all sorts of places to try to find it— let’s share the hope of knowing Jesus freely!

Conversations about Unconditional Love

Have you ever experienced truly unconditional love? Christmas shows us that we are loved without condition.  This is a radical concept for us who live in a celebrity culture that elevates people based on performance and marginalizes those who are can’t or won’t contribute.  God’s love doesn’t work like that – He himself became the solution to the problem we created when, like insolent children, defiantly went our own way (we call this sin).  “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.  For one will scarcely die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die – but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Romans 5:6-8.  Did you catch that – we are the ungodly and that he doesn’t wait until we are deserving of the His love! “so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:7-9. 

God loves unconditionally.  It’s a fact that is hard to accept.  Have a conversation this Christmas about that fact— He reached out to us and there is no point in waiting around until we “have it all figured out”… because that day will never come.

Conversations about Adoption

Have you ever thought about adoption?  To be adopted means being chosen to become a part of the family and to benefit from all of the rights and responsibilities that accompany being in the family.  I am definitely not an expert on the topic of adoption but the good news proclaimed at Christmas is all about us being adopted into the family — “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12-13.   This is huge!  We (who have received Jesus through faith) have been made a part of the kingdom of God.  Nothing in there about being good looking, or useful or deserving… nothing about us at all – just that we receive.  This all points us to the absolute purity and of God’s unconditional love.  We then are freed up as adopted to enjoy Him forever and to discover a life that He has intended for us – one where we live for Him!  I realize that this conversation circles back to the last one but it is just as amazing.  Share with your friends and family how you have been adopted this Christmas and help them celebrate why this is such great news!

I pray that this Christmas season you will be able to connect with friends and family and to celebrate and worship God for all that He is and has done!  Merry Christmas from all of us at Manitou.