"This is how God showed
his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we
might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he
loved us and sent his Son as an atoning
sacrifice for our sins." ~1 John 4:9-10
Love is not simply a
characteristic of God or somethings He does. Love is who God is. In fact, the
verse right before the above passage in 1 John says, "God is
love". (1 John 4:8) It is His very nature and being, just as
holiness is. God is holy and God is love. All
that He is and all that He does is holy and loving. His most holy and loving
act was in the Incarnation. He sent His Son into the world for us as the
ultimate act of love. We did nothing to earn or gain this loving act. In fact, the
Bible tells us that there is nothing we can do, no act worthy of gaining God's
love. Why? Because of sin. Sin entered this world through the act of man in the
beginning and separated us from God's favor. But God had a plan to restore His
favor on us. Paul says it this way in the book of Romans:
"You see, at just the
right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the
ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a
good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his
own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 5:6-8
And again Paul describes it in
the book of Titus:
"But when the
kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved
us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his
mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by
the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus
Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we
might become heirs having the hope of eternal life."
Titus 3:4-7
We were powerless to earn His
love. We did nothing. We were separated from God because of sin; yet this did
not stop a loving God from repairing the breach that stood between us. "This
is 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
This is love ~ the
Incarnation. God sent his one and only Son into the
world.
Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, Love Divine,
Love was born at Christmas,
Star and Angels gave the sign.
Worship we the Godhead,
Love Incarnate, Love Divine,
Worship we our Jesus,
But wherewith for sacred sign?
Love shall be our token,
Love be yours and love be mine,
Love to God and all men,
Love for plea and gift and sign.
~Poem by Christina Rossetti, 1885
Advent is a celebration of
waiting and preparing for the love God sent into the world in the birth of His
Son, our Savior.
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