I really miss performing in yearly Christmas pageants and musicals, especially at church. Not only did the dramatist in me love them, they were truly my first introduction to Jesus, (that I can remember), and who He is. An introduction that shaped my vision and view of God and of Christmas itself very early in my life.
But as in so many churches, ours has gone the way of a worship band playing on a “stage,” with nearly every aspect of High Church ornamentation and ritual stripped away. And I’m left with playing old Christmas programs CDs on my stereo system and blaring the beautiful old songs—that taught about God’s love and majesty and His son’s miraculous birth—throughout my house. They bring back warm memories.
One of those particular programs is called “When Love Came Down.”
But we don’t always think of Christmas that way, do we? When Love came down. When the Creator of the Universe chose to come to this mean earth in the form of a lowly baby, with one purpose in mind: to restore mankind’s relationship to the Father and provide a way for us to spend eternity with Him.
He gives that opportunity to everyone.
Now that’s what I call love!
Perfect, sacrificial, unconditional love.
Love goes way beyond how we normally regard it, how we conceptualize it. And amazingly enough, science backs up the power, majesty and mystery of it! Here are just some of the ways love unleashes its power on us (compiled by Guideposts Editorial Intern Alyssa White for Feb/Mar 2018 issue of their Mysterious Ways magazine):
- According to the HeartMath Institute, the heart produces a strong electrical field that can be measured from several feet away.
- When asked to rate foods, people in loving relationships experienced sweet and bitter foods—even water!—as sweeter, reported the journal Emotion.
- A UC Davis study of 32 couples found that staring into your beloved’s eyes for three minutes can cause your heartbeats to sync up.
- Love letters are good for you! An Arizona State [University] study showed writing affectionately about someone you love—either romantically or platonically—can lower your cholesterol.
- Cuddling and holding hands releases natural painkillers like oxytocin in your brain, according to data from UCLA.
- A German study found that men who kiss their wives before work live five years longer, earn a higher income, and are less likely to get in a car accident.
- A study in California noted that gazing at a photograph of a loved one can measurably decrease physical pain.
- When a mother focuses her attention on her baby, her brain waves synchronize with her baby’s heartbeat, the HeartMath Institute says.
And here’s a fact that drives home just how powerful—and lasting—real love can be:
The heart never forgets. Neuropsychologist Paul Pearsall observed that heart transplant recipients sometimes retain their donor’s memories.
That last one is hard to fathom, isn’t it? But it tells you where memories may really be stored.
In the heart.
When I think about Jesus and His love for us, I find it more amazing.
He came to Earth with the sole purpose of saving us; of giving us a hope and a purpose; of providing the way to eternal life through his death and resurrection.
He did it because He had us in His heart. You, me, everyone.
And He still does. Two thousand years later.
He never forgets us.
And that’s what Christmas was and still is about.
When Love came down.
If we spend our week leading up to Christmas meditating on God, Jesus and that mysterious, miraculous love, I have no doubt our heartbeats will sync and our lives will be much sweeter!
UNTIL NEXT WEEK, (Christmas Eve), meditate on Jesus and His love, write and send a love letter to someone special, dig out a photo of a loved one and meditate on it, and spend some time cuddling and holding hands with your sweetie!
Ain’t love—and its power—grand!
To explore more interesting facts about love, go to Guideposts Love Facts. (Guideposts.org/LoveFacts)
Blessings,
Andrea
May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).