Love Has Come

Hurry now wake up your eyes
Time for little ones to see
Daddy's got a big surprise
Hiding there beneath the Christmas tree
How they are like the child in me!
See the wonder in their eyes
Like a fairytale come true
One more time I realize
All the love our lives found in you

Love has come
For the world to know
As the wise men knew
Such a long time ago
And I believe that angels sang
That hope had begun
When the god of glory
Who is full of mercy
Sent his son

If I could have a special dream
Coming true on Christmas morn'
I would want the world to see
How his father smiled when Christ was born
The greatest gift the world has known!
So come on kids, look high and low
For all the toys you've dreamed to find
But I believe you'll never know
A greater joy than Jesus' love inside

Love has come
For the world to know
As the wise men knew
Such a long time ago
And I believe that angels sang
That hope had begun
When the god of glory
Who is full of mercy
Yes, the god of glory
Sent his son

(Repeat)

We are drawing near to Christmas day. Drawing near to presents and stockings brimmed to the full. Drawing near to family and food. Drawing near to tradition and music and joy. It is coming; I feel the anticipation in my soul. And that anticipation is so much greater as I watch the sweet children in my life anticipate this day.

They huddle around the Christmas tree looking at the presents, reading tags, wondering what might be placed beneath that tree that is just for them. There is a countdown going on: How many days until Christmas? Izzy asks. Is it time for Santa to come? Josh wonders. There is excitement, there is joy, and there is wonder. 

One of my absolute favorite moments of Christmas comes when Herb has checked to see if Santa visited, and the children bust loose into the living room. The complete awe on their faces as they realize Santa has brought them what they have asked for is so precious; He has managed to fit it into His sleigh, deliver it down the chimney and even assemble it so that it is ready for them to enjoy. How did he do that?!? they wonder. Like a fairytale come true! It is magical to watch them experience perfect gift giving--something chosen just for them, something they desperately wanted, something for their pure enjoyment. This is the gift delivered on Christmas morn.

What a taste that is of the first Christmas day! The anticipation had been building, the longing intense. How many days until we are delivered? the people wondered. How long until the Savior comes? they asked themselves day after day. Does He know what we need? Does He know what I want? Does He understand what will bring me the greatest joy? And oh how He does! 

On that Christmas morn, love had come for the world to know, to know the God of glory who was full of mercy. God had fulfilled their greatest longing to be loved, to be pursued, to be known. He had brought them mercy, where they only knew judgment. He brought them His glory, a glimpse of the God who was theirs to keep for all of eternity. He had delivered Himself.

So often we want the gifts of God, we want Him as a means to an end. We want to come in prayer because we need some thing, we want our circumstances changed, we want joy where there is sorrow. And He is a good gift giver, really quite the best. He gives generously without fail. But more than He wants to give you good gifts, He wants to give you Himself. He longs for you to long for Him. Just like in marriage, we don't want our spouse to want us because of the gifts we give them or the things we bring to them, we want them to want us for who we are. God wants us to love Him, regardless of the gifts He gives, for who He is.

In order to show us that, to show us the real love of wanting us, wanting our presence, He gives us Himself on Christmas morn. The Christ Child is the most thoughtful gift, the one we most need, and the one God hopes we will most want. He longs for us to want Him, to love Him, to delight in Him. God, the perfect Gift giver, is not unlike a parent on Christmas morning; He is watching with anticipation not of the gift He will receive, but in delight of the gift He gave. God the Father watches the faces of His children, smiling as He gives the gift of Jesus, knowing with great certainty that this gift of love will delight them. As the perfect Father, He sees what His children love, what they need, what they have asked for and He knows this gift will fulfill all of those things.

The angels singing that night were a small manifestation of the joy brimming in the Father's heart. He has done it! He has given the greatest gift! He has brought the excitement, the joy, the wonder. And His people did wonder: how did He do it?!? How did He get all of these gifts into one tiny baby? How did He fulfill the cry of the heart so completely? It is once again like a fairytale come true. It is magical to watch His people experience such perfect gift-giving.

So this Christmas morn, as we delight in the gifts beneath the tree, as we revel in the faces of our children as they uncover the gifts they've always wanted, as we delight in the magic of the day, may we let our hearts wander to the perfect gift left beneath a stable roof. May our minds imagine a grinning God as He delights in each heart's unwrapping of the greatest Gift. May we be filled with awe at how He knew exactly what we needed and sent it so perfectly wrapped in flesh to our midst. Let us allow the moments of the season to draw our hearts to worship of the greatest Gift. May we not let the opportunities to join with the angels in praise this Christmas morn. The gifts are good, but the Gift-giver is the best.