Each Christmas, there’s a reason why Hallmark movies and timeless classics like “Elf,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and “A Christmas Carol” captivate us. Beyond the entertainment and festive charm, they resonate deeply as they display humanity’s goodness, optimism and positivity, especially in the face of life’s challenges.
Mental health struggles, family dysfunction, financial strain and other hardships are often magnified during the holidays. The reality of life, the hardships, pain and hurt—and the loneliness of it all—makes people yearn for goodness in this season.
For Christians, this season presents an incredible opportunity to lean into our calling to make God known by doing good.
God’s love for us and his ongoing, overwhelming provision of grace and mercy gives us the power to do more good than we ever could on our own. Doing good, as an outpouring of Jesus’ love and salvation for us, is the power of being a Christian.
Jesus drew crowds precisely because he did tremendous good in the world. His miracles made him powerfully attractive, so people sought him out in droves.
God still uses the good works of his people to draw us closer to him. In many cases, people are moved to believe in God because he works good in their lives. Jesus healed people because of their faith—but he also healed people to help inspire greater faith.
We are drawn to good works, and always have been, in part because the world is so dark. We desperately crave any reason to hope for a better world, for ourselves and for others.
What’s more, God wants us to be a people who do good—not to earn his love but to reflect it to a broken and hurting world. Scripture reminds us that it is God’s love that moves and inspires us to live out this goodness.
Titus 2:11-14 reads,
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
The power of the gospel not only saves us but turns us away from wickedness and toward doing good. The gospel effect on every life is to transform us into the intimacy of being “a people that are his very own,” people who like Jesus are “eager to do what is good.”
The eagerness to do good is a fruit of walking with God and experiencing his love, not an effort to earn salvation. His Spirit and grace give us the superhuman strength and vision we need to go out into the world and make it truly better.
