Love
Read 1 John 4:13-19.
"13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us."
What is the greatest picture of love you’ve ever seen? Is it the love you’ve witnessed between your parents? Friends? The way you love your children? Maybe what came to mind first wasn’t anyone you actually know, but an iconic couple from a show or movie. Pause for a second and think about what made that love so special—what makes it stand out and why is it unique? All of these love stories, whether they are real or fictional, have flaws. No matter how perfect they may seem, we know that they are not.
There is only one story in the history of the world that paints a picture for us of perfect love. Does that sound cliché, or perhaps even cheesy to you? That’s understandable—but the truth remains the same. And as we find ourselves in the middle of Advent, we also find ourselves in the middle of this great story.
As we’ve talked about during the last couple of weeks, God spent years setting the stage for this love to be revealed in its fullest form, and as we approach Christmas Day, we near closer and closer to the celebration of the day God’s love was, at last, made manifest on earth through Jesus Christ. Earlier this week, we read 1 John 4:9, which says, “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.”
We celebrate during Advent that we have been given the greatest love story of all time as God’s love for us is revealed through the sending of His Son. We see love made visible in the coming of Christ. So now what do we do? “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). God initiated this love—He moved toward us through the sending of Jesus. So now, we respond by receiving the good news of the coming of Christ as heaven’s “I love you.” Then, we tell Him that we love Him, too—through our words, our actions, and our worship, especially now as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus- the day perfect love took human form.
[Matt Chandler (2021). (p. 47). Family Advent Devotional - Bible Study eBook. Lifeway Press. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com]