Love

On the second Sunday of Advent, we light the candle of Love to signify the love of God that reaches out to embrace us and the entire world.

A love that is stronger than kings and empires, stronger than grief or despair, stronger even than death.

1 John 4:19

We love, because God first loved us.

Hard to do, in the world we live in today. Hard to do in the community we live in, or even our homes sometimes.

Hard to love the “unlovable”, especially when they hurt us.

Hard to love those who not only don’t love us, but maybe even hurl insults at us.

But the Love of God, made flesh in Jesus Christ, enters our world just the same – uninhibited by our failure to love the way He does -  unconditionally.

The same Jesus who teaches us to love our enemies and even pray for those who persecute us.

The same Jesus, who takes His first earthly breath in Bethlehem, who asks His Father to forgive those who just moments before, nailed Him to a cross and stand guard as He breathes His final breath on earth.

1 John reminds us that we love, not because others have loved us, or even because they deserve it.

No, we love because God first loved us – as unlovable as we are or can be.

Love enters into our world, and nothing will ever be the same.

Praise God!