Have yourself a merry little Christ-mas Ep4/Can you feel the love tonight?

This is part of a 4-part series "Have yourself a merry little Christ-mas" leading up to Advent.

I know that Christmas is coming when I start to hear Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is you"playing in the local shopping mall, providing the soundtrack of my descent into consumerism this time of year. I am hardly surprised at the popularity of the song itself - it details the longing of the singer for her beloved. At some level, all of us can relate to it. Some of us long for our significant others. Others dream of a time when we will enter this blissful relationship of our dreams. But the common denominator lies in this desire for relatedness. I even myself jamming to the song now and then while I go about my daily business. Curiously, I wondered who the "you" was referring to. In the song, it refers to the man she loves. I wondered - could this "you" be Jesus too? Do our hearts burn with this same desire for Him? Do we also desire for Him in our lives? Truth be told, we desire for many things - the latest phone, a relationship, better job prospects. Our hearts seem to be yearning for many transitory things, but what about Him? At the heart of our love for this song points to something deeper, beyond the feel-good vibes. It points to our yearning for connection and relationship at this time of year. It stands in stark contrast to the idea of presents and perfect Instagram captions. It reveals our deeper human need for true love.

So often, we are searching for love in the wrong places, getting in and out of relationships that centre more on our selfish desires rather than the selflessness that is borne of a true gift of self. We come away feeling empty and lost. Yet, I glimpse something of sublime beauty in the small manger in Bethlehem. I see a helpless child lying in a small space, flanked by His parents, shepherds, animals and wise men. I see in this child, what it truly means to love. I see my Saviour, as in John 14:4 "The Word was made flesh and dwelled among us". I see Him entering this world not with pomp and circumstance, but in poverty. This child that would pierce the heart of His mother, whose hands, feet and side would be pierced through for MY transgressions. I, who struggle daily with sin, have been redeemed by this child. I, who fall again and again, have never had to earn His love. I have never had to change who I am to be loved, I am loved not in spite of my flaws, but precisely because of them. It has only sunk in at a deeper level over this past year, that truly He loves me as His beloved daughter.

I now see love not purely as a romantic exchange of flirtatious glances but I see it manifest in His love for me. A strange realisation when culture has tried to limit the idea we have of love and what it entails.

"For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life."

Truly, the gift of Jesus Himself for our sake, is the purest act of love in itself. He who gave His life such that we may live! When I start to constrain my perception of love to this and that, I remind myself to go above and beyond, to love with a genuine sincerity, the people around me. It's definitely not an easy task, my human nature is inward seeking, directed to the self. Keeping myself open to love and be loved is a task in itself. When I see Him nailed to the cross, in an act of vulnerability, I feel the depth of His love. As Christmas draws ever closer, I truly do "feel the love tonight", in fact I feel HIS love tonight!