Day One

by Rick Pierce

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” -1 John 4:7-12

Many words come to mind during the Advent season, some pointing to God and others dealing with more of the earthly matters that come with the season. However, love is not one at the top of our lists usually. Looking at the top Christmas hymns I see: joy, praise, holy, baby, etc., but not one of the top 20 hymns have the word love in the title or for that matter, in the song itself. So, what does love have to do with Christmas?

Love is such a confusing word in our language today. Just stop and ask yourself how many ways you and others use that one word to describe things in our lives. We “love” a sports team, our pets, someone’s clothes, car, haircut, an actor, a musician, our friends and family, God, even a TV show or our favorite food. John 3:16 tells us “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” How is it possible that the same word we use to understand the actions of God, can be used to describe our feelings about a particularly good slice of pizza?

A large problem is that the English language has one word for love, but the language of Jesus and the New Testament had multiple words to describe

feelings we lump together as “love.” God’s love is agape, and agape love is a little different. It is not a feeling; it’s a motivation for action that we are free to choose or reject. Agape is a sacrificial love that voluntarily suffers inconvenience, discomfort, and even death for the benefit of another without expecting anything in return.

And so the agape love of God was given, shown to us, in the form of a tiny baby, as Paul explains, “he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Philippians 2:7). This is Advent love: “not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

But what are we called to do now in response to the first Advent as we wait upon the second? The answer is simple. We are to do what Christ does. We love.

“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” -Matthew 22:37-39

Therefore, this Advent, let us ask how we can love God and our neighbor more fully, so that we might fulfill the call of Jesus Christ. What are some real and practical ways you and your family can show the love of God throughout Advent and the rest of the year?

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank you for your love for us. Let us continue to love each other, since love comes from you. Everyone who loves is born of you and experiences a relationship with you. Lord, we know that we love you because you love us and because God is love—and we can’t know you if we don’t love. You showed us your love for us by sending your only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved you God, but that you loved us and sent us your Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage we have done to you and others. Lord, since you loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. We pray that your love, God, will dwells deeply within us, and your love becomes complete in us—perfect love!