|
Listen to this devotional: |
Listen while you read: "O Holy Night"1 (Lyrics) |
I received Christmas greetings from a friend today, and the e-mail subject line was "Marry Christmas". This struck me as funny: I don't really know anyone named Christmas, so who was I supposed to marry? I mentioned it to a friend, and she did know a girl named Christmas, but being female, I was not about to seek her out to marry her.
So, in what I wrote back to my friend, I mentioned, "Maybe it is time to marry Christmas into all the other things going on in life."
That got me thinking: How do we marry Christmas into all the other things going on in life? I guess that depends on what the deepest meanings of Christmas are, and how they can be applied to all of our lives. How could we have Christmas all year long?
It's all about giving: gifts, time, energy, love. Love? Whose love? My love? God's love? Ah … it was God's love that started Christmas, was it not?
John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall have everlasting life. (NKJV)
It was God's love for each one of us that led Him to give His only Son. It was that Son's love for us that led Him to give His life for each one of us so that we could have everlasting life. It is God's love that draws us to Him. It is God's love that forgives our sins when we repent. It is God's love that motivates us to forgive others for their sins against us. Through His love poured out within us by His Holy Spirit, we can reach out to others with those gifts of time, energy, and love. And that is how we can marry Christmas with all the other things going on in life.
Prayer: Lord, we thank You for the love that You have shown us. Through showing us Your love, You have taught us how to love. Help us, Lord, to continually show Your love and to marry Christmas with everything we do all year round. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
Forward this devotional Share on Facebook Send your feedback to the author Leave a comment
daughter: "Update May 19, 2025: Please keep praying for our daughter. She has another health concern which we..." 
Although PresbyCan doesn't have a mobile app, you can still have a PresbyCan icon on your mobile phone home screen. 
Thanks for sharing Ruth. Merry Christmas.
What a great devotional, Ruth!
Merry Christmas!
(BC)
Ruth, thanks for sharing this devotional with its reminder to marry the Christmas message to the rest of the coming year. Blessings.
Christmas greetings Ruth,
I enjoyed reading your thoughtful devotion birthed from a typo. Sometimes truth comes to us in unexpected ways. Blessings.
Dear Ruth,
Thank you for the different slant with “Marry Christmas”.
But can we say “Marry Jesus Christ”?
In some ways.
Not in others.
Yet we can give our supreme love to him, for he loved us supremely.
Keep writing.
This about Marry Christmas reminds me of when I was a kid. A man had come to our door and as he was walking away my father called out Merry Christmas. The man turned and said how did you know my name? My father said your name is Merry Christmas? The man laughed and said no but it sounded like his name. They both laughed and the man left but my father could not get over the year Merry Christmas was at our house. Good memories.
Ruth: The thought for today’s impressive Devotional content leaves me with very little to comment upon. I can say that even the Thought for Today had me reading it a 2nd time too in order to ‘marry’ its meaning with my understanding.
The play on that word ‘marry’ makes it a very versatile and powerful verb when one begins to analyze it. Yes, you have treated it well. I can add nothing to this Devotional except to thank you, Ruth, and may our Lord continue to bless you real good.
Thank you for the thought provoking devotional. I will try to marry Christmas for life.