We love because he first loved us. – 1 John 4:19
Christmas doesn’t end at the manger. Scripture reminds us simply and clearly: “We love because he first loved us.” The love born at Christmas is not meant to stay in a single holy moment or season. It moves outward, shaping how we live, how we endure, and how we love – especially when life is hard.
Faith is not formed only in mountaintop moments or joyful celebrations. Some of the deepest growth happens in the valleys. In the most difficult season of my life – the deepest valley I have ever walked through – I learned that living out Christmas love is not about special days alone, but about daily obedience. Step by step, choosing to trust, choosing to love, choosing to keep going even when the path is painful.
That season taught me something sacred: the depth of grief we feel comes from the depth of love we’ve known. Love does not disappear in loss – it remains, because its source is God. And keeping that love alive, sharing it, and allowing it to flow outward became not just an act of faith but a calling for me.
The love of Christ does not leave us or forsake us. It walks with us through every valley and sends us forward as witnesses of grace. Christmas continues wherever that love is carried into the world – through compassion, faithfulness, and hope – because love, in Christ, always has the final word.
Faithful God, as we go forth from Christmas, help us live out the love You first gave us, trusting that You never leave us and never forsake us. Amen.