Advent Love

But the love of our Lord God remains faithful forever and ever and ever to those who seek God. The Lord God's steadfast, righteous mercy holds good for the children's children of those who keep God's covenanting bond, who keep on remembering God's Words by doing them.
- Psalm 103.17-18

Advent is a time to hear to herald a message of good news for the world - a message of hope, joy, peace, and LOVE. During the Advent and Christmas season, we remember and experience afresh the love of God, come in human flesh in the person of King Jesus the Messiah.

In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Luke 1.79)

God is the object of love. God is love and love comes from God. True love is defined in God’s terms. Humans do not set the standards. Godly love is unconditional, self-sacrificing, active, and thoughtful. And this God-love is most clearly revealed in Jesus the Messiah - in his life, death, resurrection, and exultation.

“In this the love of God was made known 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 atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4.9-11).

In Jesus, God shows his extravagant love by gathering his rebellious people, by healing the sick and unclean, by accepting the unaccepted, by entering into fellowship with sinners. And God calls us to do the same!

As we dwell in the Holy Spirit of Christ, we are God’s healers. As we live into Jesus’ story, we increasingly love as Christ loves. We follow Jesus in loving God with our whole person. Love for God is the great and basic demand made by Jesus. Jesus calls us to love God first, and our neighbor second. And the demand here is that we submit to Christ’s lordship, basing our life on God, clinging to God with bold faith, and walking in the strength of God’s Spirit. This is our joy!

With this in mind, we return again to our Advent them of darkness and light. As we walk in the Light of God's love, we must always be prepared to face the darkness within us and outside of us. As we follow Jesus, we must be prepared to suffer for the sake of the gospel, to make huge sacrifices in our lives, and even to face persecution.

If we choose to follow Jesus and to love like him, it will cost us our lives (possibly unto death, as it has been for many Christian martyrs down through the ages).

This is not to say we should go looking for trouble. No. It is to say that when we follow Christ faithfully, persecution will come and find us! Spiritual warfare is an assumed fact in the life of the New Testament church, and it should be for us as well. If, that is, we are living a Spirit-filled life. Those with ears, let them hear what the Spirit is saying...