This fourth and final week of Advent we celebrate Love. We have celebrated Hope, Peace (Shalom), and Joy in the previous weeks. While we can describe these biblical qualities, what I hope has been made clear is that not only are these attributes of God, these are God.

• “To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
• “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation” (Ephesians 2:14).
• “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11).

But nowhere in the Bible is there a clearer statement about who and what God is than what we find in 1 John 4:7-12: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.  Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest 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 propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what a blessing to know that we worship the God of love, peace, and joy; and therefore He is our Blessed Hope.

We are made in the image of God. That means that we can grow more like him in his personality. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, each of us is empowered to exhibit the fruits of the Spirit, which include peace, joy, and love (among others).

Frequently, God tells his people that he wants our obedience more than sacrifice. So how do we obey? Jesus told us exactly how: “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.” (John 13:34-35).

Our love for each other is our testimony to a broken and needy world, which is so apparent during these days of sickness and isolation and grief. In the world in which we currently reside, let us remember that God is love, and as the hands and feet, we are called to be love to each other.

“My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!” (1 John 4:11-12).

Merry Christmas,

Judy