The Gift of Love
God's very essence is love, and Advent reveals its fullness
Teaching
When you think of love, what images or feelings come to mind?
In the West, love is often romanticized, tinged with erotic passion and personal fulfillment. In many Eastern traditions, love is usually rooted in family and heritage. Of course, we're more alike than we are different, and each of us has our personal experiences and understanding of love.
But whatever our starting point, when we think we already know what love means, it can make it hard for us to fully appreciate the surprising gift of love revealed at Advent.
In this season, we anticipate the coming, glorious King of kings who embodies selfless, joyful, unconditional love. God doesn't merely describe love—His very essence is love (see 1 John 4:8, 16).
From eternity, the Triune God shows us the nature of love: three persons in one God, perfectly united in their love for one another. The eternal love within our Triune God is the wellspring of all Creation, humanity, the story of redemption, and our future hope.
God's great love moved Him to share existence itself, sculpting the heavens and the earth, filling every nook and cranny with beauty and vitality, and fashioning us in his very image.
When Adam and Eve betrayed his love, God tenderly responded by promising future deliverance—and hand-crafting clothing for them (see Genesis 3:21). The Old Testament describes God's uncommon pursuit of his people, their heartbreaking rejection of his care, and his renewed creativity to deliver them again and again.
At Advent, we see the fullness of God's love revealed. As an early Christian hymn declared, Jesus emptied himself and became a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity, and humbled himself to the point of death on the cross (see Philippians 2:5-11).
God's love raised Jesus from the dead, and Jesus ascended into heaven to rule the world with love. As the head of the church, Jesus gives us far more than forgiveness: he calls us God's beloved, fills us with the Holy Spirit, empowers us to love each other, invites us to participate in his mission, and assures us of his eternal love.
In Advent, we remember that Love has come, and Love will come again.
Come, Lord Jesus!