Advent 4: Love
Christmas is upon us. Any time there is the birth of a new baby, we celebrate with family and friends, and spread the news to everyone else. We send out announcements and even post signs in our front yards. We can gladly spread Jesus’s attributes the same way as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We have focused this month on the hope, peace, and joy that this precious and particular birth gave us. During this last week of Christmas, we will focus on the love that Jesus brought to His people and how we will respond to that love.
Love has always been tricky. When you read about it in the Bible, it seems so simple, but when you live it out in your life, it gets complicated. We are hardest on those we love; we are not perfect, and we end up breaking hearts that we don’t even mean to, we hold love over someone’s head like it is something they should earn, and we pick and choose when to show love instead of loving unconditionally. Regardless of what we strive to do in the lives of those we love, we still disappoint because we are a fallen people.
1 John 4:10 says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” God loved us first. His decision to die on the cross for each one of us was not made because of a reaction to our love for Him, He chose each of us before we even existed on this planet. That is a remarkable definition of love; to love without expecting anything in return or to love before there was even a response to love.
In that same chapter, verse 16 says that God Himself is love. It says, “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” If God Himself is love, let’s look at how the Bible defines love. 1 Corinthians 1:4-8 defines love as this, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” We can look at this two ways. We can see this kind of love as God lavishes it upon us and we can see this love in how we treat God and others.
If we start with looking at the definition of love from God to us, we can see this love displayed throughout His earthly ministry. Jesus was and is patient, kind, humble, truthful, forgiving, comforting, encouraging, faithful, and respectful. As you read through the gospels and examine His life, you see each of these characteristics as he interacted with people, even His enemies. I cannot pick one particular story out of the gospels that shines Jesus’s love because they all do. He loved even when individuals did not deserve to be loved. Just as He loves us when we are undeserving of it.
Now I look at my love towards Jesus and others and it is not as impressive. I am very impatient and want things on my terms. My humility is wavering, and I tend to be boastful about my accomplishments in the love category. My love is self-seeking most of the time and I am very quick to become angry. The way we love each other is a direct command from God. 1 John 4 goes on to say, “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”
Because Jesus first loved us, we should display love. As we seek out His love in our relationship with Him, that love should permeate our lives and overflow to those around us. Because of our relationship with Jesus and the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us, the attributes of hope, peace, joy, and love should be engrained in us and be seen throughout our lives. It is only because of Jesus that we have the capacity to love. If it wasn’t for his birth, death, and resurrection, our hearts would be so hardened by sin that we could not display love to those around us. The forgiveness of Jesus and the love that He has freely gifted us with makes us who we are as Christians. Without Him, we would be hopeless.
If love is difficult for you to display to others, try working on one thing each week. Go through the definition of love in 1 Corinthians 1:4-8 and start with patience working your way through each attribute of love each week. Focus on how Jesus displays the attribute for you and pick out a person each day to display that attribute of love to. Ask God to help you along the way. Ask for strength to stick to it, courage to show love to those who don’t deserve it, and a heart for all those around you. Jesus is perfect love and has given you the capability to display this love and to be His hands and feet. Trust in what He is doing in your life and in the world this Christmas and stand firm in who He is!
I wish you a Merry Christmas and thank God every day for you.
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:8
“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 3:13
“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” Luke 6:35
Digging Deeper:
How has Jesus displayed His love for you in 2023?
How have you been disappointed by someone’s earthly love?
In what ways in Jesus calling you to love Him and others?