The Christmas Mask

How can I make (insert name here) happy?  In the buildup to Christmas that is the question that everyone builds on.  We are told so often that it is in the giving of the right gifts that people are made happy that we are brainwashed about it.  Now I am not knocking the giving of gifts, but the reason that we give them.  There is nothing wrong with giving someone a gift.  It can be a wonderful experience for both the giver and the receiver.  But, as I sit here I am wondering how many people were needing a hug, a conversation, someone to spend time with them this Christmas and what they got was "Here is this (insert type of present here), now go off and leave me alone because you are not worthy of my time and love".  Now I really doubt that people were actually told this orally, but this was what the actions of the giver said to the recipient.  I believe that when you give a gift without love for the other person, you are using the gift as a mask to hide behind as you pretend to love that other person.  It is a mask that only fools the person who is hiding behind it.

I realize that this happens all year, but it seems there more stories of this happing at Christmas time than any other time.  I know that we live in a society where there so many things are demanded of us, that we do not have time to do everything that we want to do.  So we substitute gifts for love.  That is where I think that we miss it.  You see I really believe that love will give meaning to gifts, but gifts will never give meaning to love.  I believe that love must always be there first.

I believe that this starts with God.  God is love.  Everything that He does or says comes from love.  There is nothing that comes from Him that does not come from Love.

So, I believe that one of the things about being made in His image is that we always need to start with love.  Everything that we do or say must come from love.  If others know that we love them then that love will give everything in our relationship meaning.  However, I believer that whenever we do not love, then nothing that we do or say will give meaning to that relationship.

Now take this a step further.  If we as believers really have God within us, then we have his Love within us, so everything that we do or say should radiate that Love.  If that His Love is not showing, then how can we truly say that we have God within us.

So I hope that we truly all love each other and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!