Christmas is an important time of the year for believers to reach out to the community around us with the love of Christ. God the Father certainly expressed his love by sending His Son to us at Christmas (John 3:16), and Jesus certainly expressed His love by coming into this world through the miracle of the virgin birth. Christmas is an act of love — I John 4:9-10.
During the Christmas season, the hearts of people seem to be a little more open spiritually and a little more tender. If someone has suffered a loss in their family, that loss seems to be felt more acutely during the holiday season. If someone is lonely, the loneliness seems to be more accentuated during the holiday season. Sometimes it feels like the whole world is happy — except that troubled heart which is suffering loss or loneliness.
This creates an ideal opportunity for the Christian community to reach out with love and compassion. At our church we strive to take a number of steps during the holiday season to reach out with the love of Christ by: giving out holiday food baskets; receiving a special offering for worldwide missions; sending shoeboxes of gifts to Haiti; holding special dinners or parties for the elderly and the homebound; presenting special Christmas programs, such as Walk Through Bethlehem and a Christmas musicale; etc.
Or it may just be a kind word or an act of generosity toward a neighbor.
Surely, as Christians we should strive to reach out with the love of God year-round. But the holiday season presents us with a special opportunity!
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