Love / Advent Devotional / Week 4

Advent Devotional (Week 4): Love He couldn't do anything for himself. Born with cerebral palsy, he sat in the wheel chair loving every second of the Christmas musical. He faces challenges that I can't even imagine. His body wrecked by a disease with no cure. He sat in the back of the auditorium, perhaps wanting not to distract. And sitting next to him was a proud mother, I couldn't help stealing a glance throughout that evening, to see her stroking his hair, wiping his mouth and smiling all the while. She adored him. I had to meet this amazing mother. She was a single mom who had just moved to Tennessee from Kansas. "How do you do this all by yourself?" I asked. "He's my life. He's the greatest blessing that ever happened to me," she said. This two-person family had an eternal affect on me. I received a glimpse of the love God has for me. Despite my constant battles with sin and personal rebellion, God loves me like that. Amazingly, you are God's treasure and if you follow Him, He will be yours. "Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:10). "But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us!" (Romans 5:8). No doubt you've already heard the familiar words of "O Holy Night" this year. Don't miss the truth of the final verse: Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His gospel is peace. If you want to know how to love one another, look at the love that sent Jesus to earth to live a life of love and pay the price for all of our sins. It's all about love. This isn't a love of fancy words and impossible tasks. This is a love that says, "I am willing to love you no matter what." We can love because He first loved us. Continue reading for ways to apply this devotion.