Advent Week 4: Love
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December 22, 2022
Advent Week 4: Love
It’s here! Christmas is in 3 days and I am so excited! This week, Advent comes to a close and we wrap up this time of anxiously awaiting the arrival of Christmas with the word that it all comes back to: Love.
Think back to past Christmases of your life. What acts of love can you remember?
I remember one year, we moved houses 10 days before Christmas. And even between moving, packing and unpacking, Christmas Eve services, and all that goes on in December, my parents still put up our decorations, made the house shine, and took intentional time with us to bake cookies, watch movies, and make memories. A large act of love.
A few years ago, while my mother was in Canada preparing for the arrival of her first grandchild, my dad made sure Christmas was still incredibly special. Even after the exhaustion that came from preaching multiple services, he went out of his way to make me feel special that Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. A selfless act of love.
I think of a soon-to-be husband who found out his betrothed was pregnant outside of wedlock. Instead of stoning her and moving on, he humbled himself, endured shame, took care of her, and became dad to the savior of the world. A beautiful act of love.
I think of a young girl, sacrificing everything to carry and mother the baby who would one day save the entire world, and ensure that we could spend eternity with Him. An unbelievable act of love.
I think of Jesus, fully man and fully God, humbling himself to the lowest, most vulnerable form. Living a perfect life, walking through human experiences and emotions. Ultimately enduring the most painful death because of how much he LOVES us. The largest, most selfless, most incredible act of love the world has ever known.
Every part of the Christmas story, every part of our Salvation and the story of Jesus is completely, 100% anchored in love. Without love, we have nothing.
So, as we celebrate over the next few days, my prayer is that we are laser-focused on the acts of love we see around us. Between huge meals, candle-light services, opening gifts, baking cookies, our hearts are full of love and so in-tune with the Holy Spirit that it bursts out of us!
Merry Christmas Creek family, we LOVE you so much!
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