Christian Endeavour
This is the website for the Christian Endeavour Union of Great Britain and Ireland.
Christian Endeavour is an organisation which trains and equips today's young people to be tomorrow's Church Leaders.
About Us
We seek to help young people and other young Christians to learn more about the Bible.
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We offer participation in regular weekly sessions within the local church.
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The problem with ‘love’ is that, although everyone has an idea of what they mean by it, it is so difficult to define in concrete terms. It is indescribable and undefinable. You can feel it but can’t touch it. You can give it to someone but can’t demand it from them. You can see its amazing effect but cannot package it as a product. It can bring complete strangers together but lack of it can destroy families. You want it to be as strong and enduring as time itself but the wrong word or the wayward look can shatter it in an instant. The repeated refrain of the Beatles song, ‘Love, love, love...love is all you need’ points to a fundamental truth but doesn’t really get us close to what love is. The truth is that, if everybody was loving and kind, the world would be a much better place. The reality is that the only kind of love which can achieve that is not the romantic love of Valentine’s Day, a love often subject to the twists and turns of emotion and physical attraction. Jesus had a good deal to say about the love which endures and is wholly positive. When asked what was the greatest principle by which to live, He replied, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself’ (Matthew 22.37-38). Jesus went on to explain how encompassing this love should be in His story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10.29-37) and, perhaps more directly, when He said ‘Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you’ (Luke 6.27-28). Now that is a very different kind of love to that which Valentine’s Day evokes, but it is the kind of love which will ensure that the love signified by cards and flowers on February 14 th will last for a lifetime of partnership – treating others as you would treat yourself or in the way you would wish them to treat you, forgiving offences, offering only good and upholding others in prayer. Loving means the giving of love even in the most extreme of circumstances, as Jesus did on the Cross. It is significant that, very early in His ministry, Jesus declared, ‘God so loved the world (you and I) that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life’ (John 3.16). Now that is love! All the love you need!
In my estimation, it seems to take about 12 days at the most for the star which shines so brightly in the Christmas story to have faded away. Like the bright angelic choir which sang to the shepherds, the star guiding the wise men to Bethlehem is a prominent feature in Christmas services. But, when we get to Epiphany, it has faded away and the concentration is on the Wise Men and their gifts. Yet the star is so important as it is part of that Epiphany, the divine revelation of the infant Jesus to these searching foreigners. So we can’t forget about it as attention moves to gold, frankincense and myrrh. We will probably never know what sort of astronomical feature the star was, though many have tried to explain it. However, it doesn’t really matter. It was the purpose which counted and that was to be a star of revelation. It revealed the way the Wise Men had to follow – the challenge to recognise the significance of this stellar appearance which they had observed and to respond positively to it (Matthew 2.1-2). It identified the location where they would find the King they were expecting (Matthew 2.10) – rated as a one-star B-&-B, animals welcome, cot provided – and where they knelt in adoration before a Child who they recognised to be a God-given Gift for the blessing of the whole world. It has continued to shine down the ages through the particular story in Matthew’s Gospel (Matt.2.1-12) with a mystery and fascination which can direct wise men (as well as women and children) to their own Epiphany of recognising Jesus Christ, the baby born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger, as the Son of God and Saviour of the world. It still is an Epiphany star, a star of revelation. Maybe the light of the Star of Bethlehem doesn’t fade as quickly as I thought, or perhaps it is like a comet with a regular divinely designated appearance for a brief period every twelve months. We need its light to remind us that we, too, can have an Epiphany, just like the Wise Men, and recognise Jesus for who He really is. So, continue to twinkle, twinkle, not so little star.