I don’t know if it’s the twinkly lights, the widespread altruism, or the reminder that our God loves us so much that He left Heaven to come to us, but I think we can all agree that Christmas time a special time of year.
One of my favorite hobbies this time of year is watching way too many Christmas movies (even the outrageously cheesy ones) while drinking way too much coffee with peppermint mocha creamer.
My favorite Christmas movie (thanks for asking) for a long time has been How The Grinch Stole Christmas. So obviously I’ve been STOKED about the remake that was released recently.
Beyond Jim Carrey’s amazing performance in the 2000 version, the hilarious fashion, and the fun rhymed couplets, there’s something about the story of The Grinch that is a true testament to what life is all about.
In The Grinch, the love that Cindy Lou expresses for the people around her is what changes the Grinch’s heart. In our lives, the love we express for the people around us is what changes hearts.
Like Cindy Lou Who, our job as Christians is to love others so radically and controversially that we forget to stop and assess whether or not their worth it or deserve it.
We’re to include them, love them, and ask others to do the same for them. Whether they live next door or they live in a literal dump. Whether they look like us, think like us, act like us, value what we value or not, our job is simple. Love like Jesus.
Love like Jesus. Love radically and controversially. Love to the point that it challenges the status quo. Love to the point that it honestly doesn’t make sense. Make people stop in their tracks and question why you love people the way you do, because THAT is what Jesus did and does.
Love the sinner (hello, all of us), the homeless, the oppressed, the Muslim, the marginalized, the widow, the orphan, the immigrant, the Atheist, the neighbor. Love the neighbor that society, and maybe even American Christian culture, tells you to ignore.
Mark 12:30-31 says, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
We have no higher calling from the Lord than to love Him and to love His people (and they’re all His people).
Church, when did we forget that? When did we forget the power of love? Specifically the radical, controversial, uncanny love of Christ that we get to share.
Towards the end of the new version of The Grinch, there’s a scene (minor spoiler alert) where Cindy Lou goes to the Grinch’s dump of a home after he’s wreaked havoc on Whoville and stolen Christmas. When she gets there, she invites Him to Christmas dinner with her family.
I don’t remember the exact dialogue, but their conversation went something like this:
“I’d like to invite you to dinner.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“But I stole Christmas.”
“I know.”
“And all the presents.”
“Yep.”
“It was awful.”
“Kinda.”
“But you still want me to come to dinner?”
“Yep! Come on.”
I want you to take a second to think about when Jesus had that conversation with you.
When He invited you to dinner, to His home, into His family, in spite of all that you’ve done. When you brought Him your sin and He said “I know, but I love you. I forgive you.”
And now, I want you to step into that role. Step into the role of the person who says “I know who you are, I know what you’ve done, but I love you. I’d like to invite you to dinner.”
Go into the world with your arms wide open and your heart overflowing with the love of Christ. Love radically, love controversially.
As always, I want to invite you on this journey of spreading the love of Christ with me. Here are a few ways to do that!
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The most important, pray. Right now, I’m asking that you would please pray for the Lord’s preparation of my heart and His provision in fundraising.
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