“You asked for a loving God: you have one.  The great spirit you so lightly invoked, the ‘lord of terrible aspect’, is present: not a senile benevolence that drowsily wishes you to be happy in your own way, not the cold philanthropy of a conscientious magistrate, nor the care of a host who feels respnsible for the comfort of his guests, but the consuming fire Himself, the Love that made the worlds, persistent as the artist’s love for his work and despotic as a man’s love for a dog, provident and venerable as a father’s love for a child, jealous, inexorable, exacting as love between the sexes.  How this should be, I do not know: it passes reason to explain why any creatures, not to say creatures such as we, should have a value so prodigious in their Creator’s eyes.”
                              - C.S. Lewis (The Problem Of Pain)

God is a consuming fire.  He engulfs us in the same way that a fire can consume a field.  He engulfs us in the same way that a fire can surround a house.  He consumes us with Love.  The same love that was used to create the worlds that we see, is the same love that can consume and reign in our lives.  He pursues us as does a painter pursue a canvas.  He draws every detail of our life.  He trains us as a man trains a dog.  He loves us as a father loves a son.  There is no other explanation but rather the assumption that God is good and He is sovereign.  We are so valuable. 

As we celebrate advent (the coming or our Savior), may we have joy.  The bible tells us to not fear because God is bringing us great joy.  We must not fear allowing Jesus to come into our life.  He is our great gift of joy from our Creator. 

This season may you not worship a little baby, but rather a great bundle of joy that came into the world that we may know hope.  Jesus is truely the reason for the season.  May God bless you and your family.  Be it a good season, or a tough season JOY has come into your life that you may know hope.  Hope has a name and His name is JESUS!  God bless you this Christmas!