Christmas Eve in a challenging time
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| Thomas Nast "Christmas Eve 1862" Illustration published in Harper's Weekly January 1863 |
As the wife prays for the safe return of her husband, he sits alone by the fire looking at a picture of his family back home.
The most treasured gift on Christmas is to have others to love and to have them love you back. I feel sad for hearts that think "things" will satisfy. Yes "things" are interesting and enjoyable for a brief moment. But it is relationships with others that long-term give us stability and true joy. God created us this way from the beginning. God created us to need others, and to especially need Him. Jesus came into the world to open the door to an honest relationship with God the Father. Don't reject the greatest gift ever offered by rejecting God's forgiveness of your sins and adoption into His family through faith in Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and resurrection from the dead. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" John 3:16.
Life's circumstances can affect human relationships, but God's love for those looking to Him for grace is never affected by life's challenges. God remains faithful and involved in hearts who have put their trust in Him. Treasure God's love even in the hardest of situations.
