December 24: Love

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.  - 1 John 5:1

Faith and love are two key components that make us people of God. They are such small words yet hold so much weight. Being born into the family of God means that we’ve entered into a larger family circle- a family of believers. It’s a big family composed of people from all over the world and possibly your next door neighbor.

Regardless where we came from or how God adopted us, we have one thing in common to unite us. And that is the love He lavished on us! Paul writes in 1 Corinthians that when it comes down to it, three things remain, “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

At Christmas time, it’s easy to feel the warmth of the holiday and the love of friends and family. However, not everyone is as blessed as some. For some, it is difficult to fill the base of the tree with gifts let alone put food on the table. For others, it means remembering the loss of a loved one or those that can’t make it home for Christmas.

The night Mary gave birth to Jesus, the first Christmas, her situation was certainly not merry and bright. She gave birth to a baby without a midwife, in a barn, and put her newborn in a feeding trough. But in that moment, love was born. The greatest gift that God gave to his people and that we can share with our brothers and sisters is love. It says in 1 John, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” On the darkest of nights, in less than ideal circumstances, God lavished his love on us.  

Enjoy these easy Peanut butter no-bake cookies that look of beds of straw.

Ingredients
½ cup creamy peanut butter
¼ cup honey (or maple syrup for vegan)!
¼ cup coconut oil measured in the solid state.
2 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup quick cooking oats
¼ cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Instructions
Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper, set aside.
Combine peanut butter, honey salt and coconut oil in a saucepan and heat, stirring continuously, until melted and well-combined.
Stir in vanilla and cocoa powder.
Add quick-cooking oats and mix well.
Add coconut and stir until completely combined.
Drop 1 TBS portions of mixture onto your prepared baking sheet. Continue until you’ve used all your cookie mixture.
Let cool in the refrigerator or freezer until hardened.
Serve cold or frozen!
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator!
Adapted from Joy Food Sunshine

Written by: Abigail Elliott

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