Christmas is my favorite holiday. For us, it’s a time of shopping with children and grandchildren. It’s a time of excitement and anticipation and a time of closeness with people we love. As usual, our Christmas Day starts early when everyone begins to open their gifts. Even the dogs in the family get a gift and I’m sure they will be excited about that also. LOL! At the close of the day, or the week for some, the presents will have been exchanged and the gatherings completed, but the Greatest Gift of Christmas will continue. That gift is LOVE. (John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.) Love is one of the most powerful forces in the world. Love is not for a holiday, a season, or a day, but love continues throughout the year. The bond of a family coming together to enjoy Christmas is something that words can not describe. The sacrifice of each person’s preferences for the good of the whole family is only accomplished through love. It’s not the gifts that you exchange. Most of us could afford to purchase what someone else gives us, but it’s the depth of love with which those gifts are chosen and given. Don’t allow anything to separate you from your family this Christmas season. Settle petty differences that have grown larger than they ever should have. Don’t let anything destroy the LOVE that is supposed to unite a family. Love is the GREATEST GIFT OF CHRISTMAS! God loved us enough to give Jesus so that He could have relationship with us. We should do our part to have relationship with others. MERRY CHRISTMAS! Pastor Don [image: image.png]