Fourth Advent: The ultimate love of God – He gave us his Son.

 

We spread God’s light, by sharing God’s love.

 

God shared his love for us, and for all of his creation, by “sharing” his Son with us.  Giving his Son to become one of us, to be born for us, teach us and guide us, to die for us and conquer for us, is God’s amazing love declaration to an entire human race in dire need of the light of the Lord.

Without God’s love there would not have been grace or mercy.

 

Luke 1: 31 - 33: “The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favour with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

 

God so much loved the world that he gave his only Son...(John 3: 16)

 

“The Son of the most High” demonstrated sacrificial love during his ministry on earth, showing us the loving character of his kingdom that will never end. Advent is a season that reminds us to do what Jesus is coming to do, as we remember what he did when he ministered on earth. We are reminded to be kind, selfless and sharing.  It is a time to practice how to love as God loved us, by giving us his most precious gift, his only Son. As God is love, let us be love also.

 

The Gospel according to John says:

“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”  – John 13:34-35

 

The Apostle Paul teaches:

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. Love never fails." - I Corinthians 13: 4,8.

 

As we consider love during the last Advent Sunday before we celebrate Christmas, we ought to express our need, even our desperate want, for God to love us, in spite of whom we are and what we became. The Child of hope, peace and joy is to us the confirmation of the divine love of God. Our God loved us even when we were still his enemies, when we were rebellious sinners and while we still were determined to undermine his never ending Kingdom.

 

It is his love and his mercy that brought us into the fold and made us family, sons and daughters, of the Most High, too. It is this love that reconciled us with God, in Christ Jesus, our Redeemer.

 

Prayer:

Dear Lord, as we stand amazed in the presence of your love, we look with hope to the coming of your Son into our hearts, our lives, our Church and our nation. O son of David, we receive you as the only Son of God, Most High. We welcome you with joyful hearts filled with hope. We welcome you with hearts that are at peace with you.

Come, Lord Jesus, and make us whole again - through your divine love and mercy.

Come to us now!

Come to us in love and have mercy upon us! Amen!