Love feels like being wrapped in a warm blanket. When winter’s cold arrives, the everyday blanket takes on new importance; and love, though often taken for granted, can be highlighted in times of stress and difficulty.
Think of God’s love surrounding you like a blanket that has been warmed by the fire. Saturated with the warmth you need and shielding you from the coldness of whatever hard circumstances might be around you. Christ came to cover you in protection, lift you up into a lasting relationship with your Heavenly Father, to surround your life with love and fill your heart with the abundance of love.
Read a story about blankets, and how a congregation joined their love together to make a difference for Christmas.Making the Heart Glad.
Even the snow is a blanket to the earth during the blasts of winter… it is all those little pockets of air between the snowflakes that insulate the ground from the cold air above it. It is strange how individually the frozen snowflakes are harbingers of weather that can chill us to the bone, but can be like a blanket when interlocked and resting together. It traps the warmer temperatures and doesn’t transfer the cold outer temperatures well. Which is how the blanket keeps us warm, too… adds a layer of insulation to keep our body heat from dissipating out into the cold, cold night.
There is a little warning to consider today, however. Not everyone wants God’s love. In Isaiah 28 we find out that God offers His message and kindness, but it is rejected for something of one’s own making. This situation is described as:
The bed is too short to stretch out on,
the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.
It is not enough for either rest, warmth, or protection that you need.
How often does man’s pride give away the truly important things, and then refuse God’s gift? We misrepresent love, and distort the nature of God to create lies that exalt our own way of thinking. Trying to live a good life can never cover the fact that we do many hurtful and damaging things each day, and we aren’t supposed to just “try to be good enough”. The grace of Christ, which is full of faith that works by love is what the world needs, and it is what we need.
When you reach out for your blanket, think about God’s love for you today. Don’t settle for anything else.
Sing the carol “Do You Hear What I Hear?”
[box type=”shadow”]God’s love is never too short; it is never lacking.[/box]
Jesse tree ornament for today is a tiny basket, to represent Moses.
