12/17/2024 0 Comments God is love1 John 4:7-19
Fourth Sunday of Advent https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%204%3A7-19&version=NRSVUE This coming Sunday is the Fourth Sunday of Advent, a time when many churches light the candle of love to celebrate Christ’s profound and transformative gift. Love is one of Christ’s most extraordinary gifts—not just because it comes from God, but because it is God. As 1 John 4:16 reminds us, “God is love.” Every time we receive or give love, we are experiencing God’s presence. This verse also promises, “Those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.” When Christ gives us the gift of love, it’s not something external we hold or admire—it’s something we take into ourselves. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in God is in the Manger, “God became a human being like us, so that we could become divine. God came to us, so that we could come to him.”[1] All because of love! God loved us so deeply that he became human, stepping into our world so we could be united with God in love. And through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are invited into an eternal story—a love story that binds us together forever. But here’s the challenge: we don’t always see God as love. Many imagine God as angry or punishing, a strict disciplinarian waiting to catch us in a mistake. Yet, if we take an honest look, isn’t it often humanity—not God—that embodies anger, punishment, and division? Anne Lamott puts it perfectly: “You can safely assume you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.” When we understand that God is love, it reshapes not only how we see God but also how we see ourselves. Love is not just something we feel—it’s who we are and who we’re created to be. Yet, fear so often holds us back. Fear of the unknown, fear of change, fear of the other. Fear whispers that love is dangerous or costly, but here’s the truth: fear is the opposite of love. It’s fear that fuels hatred, distrust, and division. But when we let God’s love flood our hearts, fear loses its power. Love shatters the walls fear builds and opens us to something divine. What would our world look like if we truly understood God as love? If our decisions, our actions, even our votes, weren’t rooted in fear but in love—for God and for our neighbors? It would look more like heaven, wouldn’t it? A world transformed by the divine, radiating God’s love in every corner. The writer of 1 John puts it beautifully: “No one has ever seen God; [but] if we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is perfected in us” (v.12). God’s love becomes visible and tangible when we love one another. Whether it’s the love shared with a spouse, parent, child, or friend—or even the love poured into a calling that serves others—love is the very presence of God among us. Richard Rohr calls this a “Christ-soaked world,” where Christ’s love permeates everything and everyone. So on this Fourth Sunday of Advent, let’s ask ourselves: What fears are keeping us from receiving the love Jesus offers? What walls can we let God’s love break down in our hearts? The love of Jesus is waiting to be born within us, ready to fill every corner of our life. Cast off fear and open your heart to receive the gift of Christ’s love, the love that transforms us and the world. Reflection Questions: What is your understanding of God? Have you experienced God as love? What fears prevent you from fully loving like God loves? How can you allow God/Love to abide in you? Pray: God of Love, come to us and abide in us, so we can make the world, a Christ-soaked world, where love permeates through everything. Action: Love someone this week – particularly someone who is hard to love! *New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. [1] Dietrich Bonhoffer, God is in the Manger, Westminster, 2010.
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