I remember the exact moment my dad made me face his love when I had been very unlovable! I was 15, delivered papers at 4am in the morning. It was winter, which made it no fun. He usually left home every day at 5am, but when I got home, He was still there, I was cold and hungry, and I asked him how to make grits. (Now I laugh, but then I did not know it was so complicated. 1. Pour grits in bowl. 2. Boil water. 3. Pour boiling water into boil with grits. Stir!) 
Rocket Science!!!
To continue…he said he was late and had to leave but would show me tonight. I was a brat, and as he walked down the hall to kiss my mother goodbye, she was already bedridden and quite ill, I flipped him off! (Believe me, this is not a story I am proud of, but the point is huge) I forgot that at the end of the hallway was a full-length mirror. I saw myself, standing there with my arm straight out, my dad looking at me in the mirror. He turned and looked at me, went in and kissed mom, walked past me into the kitchen and made me grits! THAT was one of the longest days of my life!
When he walked in the door, I was on him. I was on my knees holding his legs, crying, and begging for his forgiveness. He forgave me and we hugged.
This may be why Rom 5:8 was my first memory verse and one of my favorite Scriptures to meditate on.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
I love the Christmas stories of shepherds, the manger, swaddling clothes, but for me Rom 5:8 is the Christmas story.
You and I are separated from God from the moment of conception because of a choice mankind made when they were walking with God. Sin caused that separation, and God is not a man that He should lie! The penalty (payment) of sin is death (separation of our spirit from our physical body and God)
Yet God chose not to leave us without hope. He chose to make the payment needed to allow (remember “allow”) us to bridge the gap between Him and us.
God extended to us what He possesses, a will that can make choices! To take that away from reality denies the Scriptures and Who God is. Man, good men, so desire to explain God to man that they get trapped making man made theories that men can understand. If a finite mind can explain God, then God is a finite god. God chooses all of His children, and we choose Him! If I can explain that then I am equal to Him, which I am not!
The So What: Just a challenge – Make this Christmas a single focus – God demonstrated how much He loves YOU! The penalty is paid, and IF you ALLOW God’s sacrifice to pay the debt of your sin, you can experience His Eternal life here and now!
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