Love As Jesus Loved

(Insert Vikings fans reading level joke here.)

Dagnabbit, I'm making time to write today! I don't care what is on my plate!

This is why Christmas is fun. Dad's and daughters get to dress alike and read the same books; the mom's get together in the kitchen to make holiday candy; the dad's relax in the family room while discussing open dates to travel to the boundary waters. That's what makes Christmas fun. Being together with those you love. In this case, immediate family.

For us, Christmas truly did come early this year. And the best part, we get a second Christmas in the same year! God is good.

At the same time, don't think we don't have our "tense" moments as well. Unfortunately no ones life is always a Norman Rockwell painting. We take the good with the not so good. The highlight of every holiday is spending it with family. Period. No green grinch can ever take that away. But at the same time, the lowlight of every holiday seems to happen while spending it with family. Question mark. Being born into sin sucks. I don't need to even go into specific examples of how families fight during the holidays. That seems to just as much of a tradition as the gifts.

Now please don't read anything into this post. We had a great time with no "family fights". But God has put it on my heart this morning to encourage anyone who reads this with family tension to love as Jesus loved. After all, that's the origin of this holiday anyway.

I was convicted this past weekend of not loving as Jesus loved. I ran through the motions of visiting my grandpa in the nursing home all the while looking at my slowly ticking watch. The thing is, I love my grandpa. I can make all the excuses I want for not enjoying my time there. But ultimately, I didn't love him like Jesus does. And unlike a 30 minute sitcom, this problem won't be solved after the last commercial break. But what I do know is I was thinking of myself first.

The point of this rather depressing tale is to, again, encourage you. If you have planned events with family that you aren't looking forward to. Will you please learn from my mistake and think of them before yourself? I went into that nursing home with the wrong attitude. I love my grandpa but I loved myself more.

I'll end my soapbox special with a passage from 1 Peter 4:8-11:

Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Now, just so I don't leave you with a heavy heart, here is the highlight of Christmas in Moorhead 2007.

It was time to start opening gifts. My dad was under the tree and literally tossing the presents to everyone. (Yes, I am my dad's son.) As we were all sitting in a semi-circle catching the gifts, my dad tossed one to me that didn't quite make it. Instead of hitting me, it hit the lamp next to me. As the gift made contact with the lamp, my mom who is sitting on the opposite side of the room, jumps up with a full cup of coffee in hand, trying to stop the collision.

The end result was her dumping her entire cup of coffee on herself, kicking Christmas presents everywhere, and causing the rest of us to burst out laughing. We, including mom, were all laughing so hard not one of us had a dry eye. What mom thought she could do to prevent the errant gift from hitting the lamp from the other side of the room, we'll never know. What's even better was the only fatality of it all was a 50 cent lightbulb and mom's now coffee stained outfit. Thank you mom for being who you are!

Merry Christmas everyone!

—b