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LOVE BEYOND CHRISTMAS - Part 1

By Sam Martey

Christmas is around the corner, and everyone is desirous to show some love and to receive some love in return. Is it not amazing that this virtue called "love" is so "appetizing" that people are willing to go to the extreme extent to make it happen? Either to receive or to give, and especially during the Christmas season, it almost becomes compulsory to love, to the extent that people harbour resentment against one another due to expectation not being met. You can tell me your story through the Contact page above if you have such an experience with a relative or a neighbour on any of the seasons or special days. The desire to be loved is imbedded in the DNA of the human system and without the required doses of it (love), I tell you the functionality of the human faculties would be in total jeopardy! The desire for love from the relevant people in your circle is everyday affair – 365 days in the year, and not a seasonal thing! However, if it is not forthcoming, people try to exercise patience till the Christmas season or special days to harvest it – expectations are great for those who never receive any love on the ordinary days, and they would be ready to vent their spleen on any one in their circle who fails to honor the obligation on the special days.
The desire for love, if not fulfilled, creates a vacuum in the human system the consequences of which could be disastrous! Marriage terminates due to lack of love; children commit suicide for not receiving love from parents, friendship break due to same reason. I cannot emphasise enough how important the virtue of love is to humans.
Where did this virtue originate from? You might have your view, but I beg to put it to you that, it came from the Almighty God! A simple illustration here would do - when the Almighty God found it necessary to provide a help meet for Adam, he formed Eve and presented her to Adam, and Adam had to commit to living with a "stranger" with immediate effect. How would these creatures of God have lived together in harmony without "LOVE"? Somebody to tell me! God in his wisdom put LOVE in their hearts – in their DNA to bind them together. We all know how people of all walks of life make great sacrifices to be with whom they love – to love and be loved!
We can imagine how abundant the love of the Almighty God is by the way he related to father Adam in the Garden, before the arrival of Mother Eve. The whole idea of providing Adam with a help meet was out of love and placing them in such a comfortable place, where all their needs were already provided was divine love. The Almighty released such a wonderful virtue into the hearts of men and women to help create harmony in society – God’s vision for mankind is to live in peace and harmony with one another and the virtue of love is the key to the realization of the vision. To date, God’s love for mankind is the same as revealed in the Garden of Eden, it can never fade away, but how about love for each other as human beings dwelling on the planet Earth? Your guess is as good as mine! In my view we have failed to responsibly implement this "love affair" as designed by the Almighty God, and as such we have not been able to meet His expectation. Our inability to shed the love amongst ourselves is caused by our downfall – that is SIN! Sin has taken away our ability to love one another, so we cannot love anymore!
I am sorry to admit that most people will not experience any love during this Christmas and even beyond, due to that fact that individuals you might be expecting to receive love from don’t have it anymore to give to you at this time. Dear reader, if your source of love is only from human beings, then I am here to inform you that, you are likely to be disappointed one day: if not this Christmas, then the next one, or the next one. I can tell you that, no human love can fulfil the desire that the Almighty God has put in your heart. Those who realize that the VACUUM is far too big to be completely fulfilled by human love, start to find solution, and where would you find the solution apart from the one who introduced the virtue into your system? My friend, don’t stress out if love has not been forth coming to you, and would not even come during this Christmas and beyond, as that would not help you. Even if such love should come, I can tell you that, it would not be adequate for you. The lack of love signals you have been experiencing is an indication to you that you are missing something great in your life – and that is the LOVE OF GOD!
Bible says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" to the world. I f you believe in Jesus, no one can "starve" you with his or her "2by4" love. The love of God is superabundant to all who put their trust in Him. If you are contemplating doing any harm to yourself or somebody, during this season because somebody has disappointed you with his or her love, I would advise you to abandon the idea, and rather go back to your Maker and ask Him to show you His Divine love which knows no limit in this world and the world to come.
If you are enjoying warmth love from your circle, I would say Congratulations to you for the mean time! However, don’t let that hinder you from seeking the EVERLASTING LOVE from your maker this season. The best gift the Almighty God wants you to have is not just the material things that fade away so quickly, but the LOVE of God, which would be accompanied by the peace of God that surpasses all understanding – go for it! In 1 Corinthians Chapter 13:13, St Paul describes love as the GREATEST GIFT amongst all the gifts that he identified in In 1 Corinthians Chapter 12 – What are you waiting for – Grab this Divine Love which is in Christ Jesus, and I can assure you that you will not sit down and "keep your fingers crossed" waiting for particular persons to come a show you love - remember Christ is the Reason for the Season!
Stay Blessed during the season and beyond!