For a few weeks now I’ve been trying to formulate into words something I’ve observed for decades: The richest Christmas celebrations happen when the “Reason for the Season” is center stage in our hearts. Christmas without Jesus surely could be likened to thinking a sweet-cream pie is delicious: Sure, it’s nice, but wait until pumpkin is added to the recipe and it becomes amazing! Add the warmth of Jesus’ presence, and the holiday season becomes truly rich and meaningful.

This morning, as I began my quiet time with the Lord, He brought to my mind a phrase from the old Christmas carol, “Joy To The World.” The phrase on my heart was, “wonders of His love,” which is found in the last verse of the hymn. 

As I pondered that phrase, it resonated with me! Yes! That’s it! The “wonders of His love” is what adds the pumpkin to the otherwise only “okay” pie! The wonders of God’s love makes all the difference in Christmas. (Which makes sense, since Jesus is why we have Christmas in the first place! 😉) Christmas truly is a season when we ponder again and again the absolute wonders of God’s love for us, and are filled with wonder!

I like this definition for the word, wonder, found in The American Heritage Dictionary: “The emotion aroused by something awe-inspiring, astounding, or surprising.” Yes! God, with his God-sized heart, is absolutely overflowing with love for us! That certainly is awe-inspiring, astounding, and can even be surprising, don’t you agree? 

God’s love is truly full of wonders. Here’s just a few of those wonders:

*God readily pours out His love on us! “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!…” John 3:1a

*God’s love isn’t one bit selfish!  ”For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16 

*God’s love is never-ending!  “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end;” – Lamentations 3:22 

*God’s love is unconditional!  “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” – Romans 5:8 NLT

*God and His love lives in us! “And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has in us. God is love, and the one who resides in love resides in God, and God resides in him. – 1 John 4:16

My prayer for you is that during this busy season, you will make time every day to celebrate Jesus as you read His word. Then I pray you won’t jump up to get busy before spending a few moments to ponder the wonders of our Savior’s love. And finally I pray that very soon you will find the complete lyrics to Joy To The World and let the truth of the words minister to your heart as you sing your worship to our King, because His love truly is wonder-full!