Special Sunday Edition
Ethan Barton, Pastoral Resident, Tallowood Baptist Church
Merry Christmas Eve! It is a wonderful time to focus our attention on Jesus. That means we focus on his gospel of salvation and his humility in coming to us as a man; we focus on his life, his character, his grace, and his perfectly true teachings. Interestingly, in his perfection, he taught that we actually should not focus only on him. He taught us to focus on and worship the Father and the Holy Spirit as well.
It's true, we actually know too little about our God if we only know about Jesus! God is one; and God is also three. It’s an awe-inspiring concept that has driven theologians crazy for two thousand years, because frustratingly, it transcends our ability to understand. But what we do know is that the three persons—Father, Son, and Spirit—are eternally bound together with perfect love for one another.
When John writes in his letters that “God is love,” he means it literally! Love, which swirls eternally between the three persons, is his primary attribute. It’s what he does; it’s what he is. In fact, he created us primarily to share his love with us. And he took on flesh, born in a manger, as the ultimate demonstration of his colossal love for us. God is love! Does that not put in perspective how much we ought to be loving him?
Jesus loves the Father, and he loves the Spirit. As we love and celebrate Jesus, should we not also love and celebrate them too? Let us not forget, Christmas is a reminder to celebrate how much God loves us. We celebrate that the Son has humbled himself to rescue and redeem us, that the Spirit is personally present to guide and guard us, and that the Father, by our joyous worship, is eternally glorified. Praise Jesus; our God loves us to the Earth and back!
