Advent Words 2023
Word 12: Love
“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
For our last word of the Advent Words challenge, I had to
return to the passage in Titus 3 that we used the other day. God’s greatest
gift of love is seen in His Son, Jesus Christ. God’s greatest act of love was
in His sacrifice of His Son for the sake of the world.
“For God so loved the world that
he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall
not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
God so easily expresses love because
God himself is love.
“God is love. 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.” I John 4:8-10
God’s love is not a feeling, it’s an
action. It is because of His love for us that He did not give sinful man what
they deserved but, rather, He acted out of love and mercy and gave sinful man
salvation and eternal life through Jesus Christ. Love is an action, and we are
called throughout the New Testament to imitate God’s love in our daily life. Motivated
by love God seeks us, but He doesn’t force us into a relationship with Him. He
bids us to respond to His love. When we love each other and act in love, motivated
by God’s love, we help the world see who God is. God is love.
“By this everyone will know that you
are my disciples, if you love one another.” John
13:35
“This is how we know what love is:
Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives
for our brothers and sisters.” 1 John
3:16
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for
love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” 1 John 4:7
Advent is a celebration of waiting
and preparing for the event of Christmas when God sent His love into the world
in the birth of His Son, our Savior.
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas, Mary. Thank you for this Advent word study. It helped me focus on what is important about Christmas. It also prepared my heart filling me with hope for His continued work in me in 2024. God bless you in 3024
ReplyDelete