The parties have begun for the Coyne family. Last night was the annual Anderson party. Tonight is a small group party and Tuesday night is a staff party for David.
We are busy preparing the Christmas card (a long process). The pictures are taken, ordered and ready. The letter is written and all of that has been stuffed into the envelopes. Just the labels remain and that part of Christmas is ready to go!
It's beginning to look and feel like Christmas. I awoke this morning to a light dusting of snow with more forecast over the next few days. In the midst of it all, we are watching lots of kids Christmas shows and all claim the same thing: "the real meaning of Christmas".
Well, my take on Christmas as we see it today is based on celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, the most influential figure of all time. For us today, it's more than just a birth that we celebrate. The message behind the birth is this: God loves YOU and you are never too far away to made right with Him.
I hope this message is an encouragement to you. Too often we feel the sting of judgment from people who attend church, we feel like we are unworthy because we make mistakes (sin) and we think that God is going to get even with us or something. God's message at Christmas is one to remind us that He Love You! You can be in a relationship with Him and not be "religious" (doing just that actions of faith). I would encourage you today to find someone who is following Jesus and ask them to explain God's love to you!
Understanding God's love is the best gift you will ever get at Christmas!
1 comment:
First of this is Matt, not Beth.
While I will agree that sometimes people point out each other’s sin in ways that are not appropriate should we say “the sting of judgment from people who attend church” is the problem? It’s funny I am currently feeling the sting of judgment from people who don’t attend “church” because I do attend “church”. Maybe a more accurate statement would be “the sting of judgment from people, who think they are helping bring people to God, but instead are turning them off. These people can be found in church, out of church, at work, or on the freeway with their Jesus bumper-stickers, meanwhile they cut you off in traffic.”
In addition, isn’t a big part of love being able to point out in our lives where there is something that is wrong? Take this comment for example. If I did not love you David, would I post here? If you were just some random person would I take the time to comment? No, because I would only alienate you because we have no relationship. But because we know each other, I can say to you “I think you are wrong” and I hope that you will do the same with me.
To sum up, what I don’t like seeing is bashing the church without a reason to do so. While I am sure you can come up with examples of the “church” doing things it shouldn’t, to label all “church” as judgmental is wrong. Let’s call the problem what it is, people who are sinful and acting outside of the Spirit, judge someone. Instead they should love people like Jesus did. Side note here, Jesus, while being perfectly loving to people, pointed out where they went wrong. Maybe “love” requires pointing out problems.
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