
“And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”
Luke 2:7-11
“One should make it a practice to meditate regularly on the love idea in Universal Mind, praying, ‘Divine love, manifest thyself in me’ … This produces a positive love current, which, when sent forth with power, will break up opposing thoughts of hate or unworthiness, and render them null and void … The love current is not a projection of the will; it is a setting free of a natural, equalizing, harmonizing force that in most persons has been dammed up by human limitations.”
Charles Fillmore in Christian Healing
The greatest gift you will give or receive this Christmas is the gift of love. Love is the spiritual truth that we are one with all people. There is no one who exists outside of love. It is the great universal. We are simply conduits for the flow of that spiritual love. Our only decision is whether or not we are going to open the gate to let love stream into us and pour out through us. When we live in the flow of God’s love, there is nothing to fear. That’s the message the angels brought to everyone in the story of Jesus’ birth— “Fear not.”
Love doesn’t mean “like,” nor does love mean that we allow anyone’s unaware behavior to harm us. Love simply means that we want the highest and best for everyone. And that includes for ourselves. Self-hate never helped anybody. Doing what it takes to embrace your worthiness and immense value to the world is spiritual growth work. We’ve all got to do it. It’s the bottom line in learning to express our Christ nature.
In order to give and receive the great gift of love, here are three things that remain to be done before Christmas morning. You must be ready—
- To have faith that the wonder of God is born in you just as surely as it was in the baby in the stable.
- To hope that the true message of Christmas will not get discarded with the wrapping paper and unwanted gifts.
- And the most important, to open your heart to the flow of God’s vast love for yourself and for all people.
In the Love and Light of Christmas,
Rev. Anna