Come Thou Long Expected Jesus | Week 4
December 22, 2024 | Addie Wood
Fourth Sunday in Advent | Love
1 John 3 says,
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
We started our journey this Advent season by staking our hope in Jesus Christ; hope that he would come again as He fulfilled his promise when he came two thousand years ago.
We have continued worshipping him as he gives us joy and supplies us with peace.
Today, we consider the love that he has lavished upon us, “…for God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
And as we consider that love, let us be reminded it is not static but active; not just a noun but also a verb. Love is a word that we must allow God, not the world to define.
He is loving us forth in countless ways.
He knocks at the doors of our hearts.
He waits for us to permit him into our lives.
He is courageous in our disbelief.
He is forgiving in our disobedience.
He is steadfast when we are feeble and weak.
He is long suffering in our humility.
He is love.
May hope and joy and peace direct our souls, minds, and bodies toward the love of Christ.