Whether you are a devout Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist, or otherwise, you are possibly celebrating the current holiday season.  As a devout Christian myself, I can tell you that this season is always the best time of the year for me.  Not because I get to surprise my family and friends with the material things that they’ve had their eyes on all year long, or because of the music on the radio, or the food, or even the numerous holiday shows and movies being played on every cable channel.  It is because of the love.  I feel love everywhere.  I see it everywhere.  Now, I could very well be experiencing love in such a heightened way because this is my normal state of being.  In my opinion, as humans, we are all drawn to love, projecting it and experiencing it in every way.  Even after we may be tainted by the things and ways of this world, love seems to find us—and it is most evident to me during the holiday season.  

So, how do we practice love? Since love is a choice, a very conscious choice, we must remember how we are loved.  As mentioned, I am a Christian.  Therefore, I will be noting the ways in which The Most High loves us and how Christ exudes that love.  It is my hope that after reading this, you remember the theme and not be offended or disheartened by how my personal view of love’s origination drives how I see people and this time of the year.  

I only have a few points to make.

1) John 13: 34-35—“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

This was Christ’s commandment.  Whatever we do during this holiday season, we must remember that we are here for and to love.  I’d like to think that if we all vibrate at higher frequencies, becoming more in touch with our spiritual selves, the small things that we encounter during this time won’t bother us as much as they usually do, because we will be at peace and content to show compassion and love.  The long lines in every store; crazy shoppers going for their very last gifts at the very last minute; annoying family members prying into every bit of our lives; spending 3 days to cook an entire meal for a house full of people and finish almost too tired to enjoy the meal ourselves.  But if we could approach each moment with kindness and love, we just might be a bit more sane when this is all over.  We might understand that those lines are so long and people have waited so late because they were trying to build up enough funds to actually provide their families with a decent holiday.  We also might kindly resort to responding to those nosey family members with “Everything is all good.” and a smile instead of our usually cursing session.  We just might remember that we have to eat; and maybe we’re entrusted with the duty of cooking because Aunt Susie can’t cook, Aunt Tracy burns the cornbread, and Big Mama is too old and tired to be standing in the kitchen for hours/days at a time.  If we remember that we are doing all of this out of love, we might be able to be calm and let the stress roll off of our backs.  

2) I John 4:7-8—“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

I often think about who I would be if I didn’t know how to love.  If The Most High took His hand away from me and decided I had to do it on my own.  I certainly would not know how to give love during the holidays.  Meditating on these scriptures helps us not only exude love,  but tolerance, compassion, and acceptance.  We, Christians especially, often feel as though we are the only people on the planet who matter.  As if our holidays are the only ones that were ever invented.  When, in essence, The Most High has called us to love profoundly every single person here; even those people who do not believe as we do.  Knowing that we are born of The Most High and know The Most High, we surely can love our neighbor who may be practicing a different religion or simply not practicing anything at all.  Remembering these words will help us, not only during the holidays, but everyday of our lives. 

3) Romans 12:8 “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.”

Regardless of whether or not you think you’re a devout Christian—and you follow all of the rules that others don’t—and you come from the correct tribe of Israel, you are NOT, according to the gospel of Christ, fulfilling the law unless you are loving others. THAT’S IT! 

These are the things that completely drive my day-to-day existence.  It is by meditating on these words and practicing love (i.e. making the choice to love) that I am able to feel it and see it in every capacity during the holidays.  I hope that everyone else remembers that it’s all about love.  Even if you don’t agree with Christ’s birthday being changed to represent a pagan holiday, or the commercialism of Christmas, or the fact that other people you know may be celebrating a different holiday; it’s about love. Let’s go give and get some.