Something Red

This got me thinking about why we use lots of red in our decorations at Christmas time. It is a reflection on the warmth that the colour conveys, the warmth of God’s love that meant that he sent his Son down to earth to save mankind. (John 3:16) Maybe it reflects the warmth of winter fires that burn in the Northern Hemisphere where many of our traditions come from reminding us of the power of the Holy Spirit. It is to remind us of the blood that Jesus shed for us on the cross, the reason He came to earth in the first place.

Another colour that we see a lot of at Christmas time is white. This reflects the clean look that comes with snow that falls in those Northern winters and reminds us of the purity of Jesus because He has never committed a wrong deed.

Green reflecting the evergreen trees should prompt us to remember the everlasting faithfulness of God because He is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)

In our modern world it seems hard to find too many people who show love or care to their fellow man; if they did there wouldn’t be the crime rates that we experience today. Purity doesn’t seem to be very common either as lots people don’t seem to bother anymore about their reputation and as for faithfulness, how many people do we know determined to make a promise and keep it. Most of us would answer “not many”.

I read a story about an employer who taught a young man to appreciate the love of his parents by making him wash his father’s hands. All the decorations we bring out at this time of year are to teach us to appreciate the love that God has for us.