“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. “ I Corinthians 13:13.
The message is clear. It has been for thousands of years now, but yet somehow, people still miss it. It’s a message that if you are reading this article, I pray that you get and keep forever. That message is that LOVE WINS!
Paul was talking about behavior in life that might have some people lifted up and praised, but he continued on by saying without love, it amounts to nothing. LOVE WINS!!! That is the message! And what greater time than Christmas to be reminded of that message. You see it in every movie, you see it in life, all over, no matter what the circumstances are. LOVE WINS!
For example, in third world countries, do you not know that Christmas is celebrated and cherished? Of course it is! The people in those countries may not go into debt buying things for their families, but, oh do they ever celebrate the gift of love that was born to us in a manger! LOVE WINS!
What has changed the heart of people that have given up hope, that hate and are hard hearted? Love, and nothing but love.
Does love change all hearts? Well, I have seen people who resisted completely, but love most assuredly can change the heart of anyone. That is why hope is important. We hope in the power of love that comes from the source of all love, God the Father! That is where our faith lies. LOVE WINS!!
They might be movies, but The Christmas Carol, Scrooge, even Hallmark movies really portray this powerful element in Christmas of love conquering cold hearts. LOVE WINS!!!
Paul also wrote in Romans Chapter 8 that he was convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. LOVE WINS!!!
This Christmas may seem more dark for you than it ever has. If it does, I want you to go back to the manger, reread the story of what happened there so long ago. You will fmd people literally fighting for their lives in a very dark world. You will find that they weren’t any different than you. But you will also fmd Jesus, the one and only Son of God, Emmanuel given to the world at what we now call Christmas to remind us, that no matter what, LOVE WINS!!!
There has always been efforts to destroy Christmas, and always will; however, I am convinced that they will never succeed. I am convinced that the greatest of these is love! I am convinced that LOVE WINS!!! Merry Christmas!!
(Editor’s Note: This column is written by a different Littlefield pastor for the Leader-News each week. The columns are published on this page on Wednesdays.)