Love Came Down

Do you hear it? The stillness… sounds of a silent night?

Today we light the middle white candle of the Advent wreath, the Christ candle. It is the day we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus! Born in a barn, crucified on a cross, the babe this moment sleeping in Heavenly Peace. John 3:16 says:

For here is the way God loved the world—he gave his only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life. (TPT)

If you’re anything like me, you’ve been running like crazy this year! After tomorrow night, we’ll have been hosting or attending Christmas events for the last seven days. (I’m ready for a long winter’s nap!) Everyone I talk with says the same. Are we making up for lost time during quarantine, or did we come to the realization this past year that life wasn’t meant to be so busy?

So whether it’s early Christmas morning and everyone's still asleep, or late in the evening and you’re finishing the last of the eggnog, take a few moments to sit quietly and open the gift of love that came for YOU at Christmastime! I John 4:16:

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

Calm your heart. Clear your mind. Ponder the wonder of the Nativity. The reality is that we never outgrow our thirst to understand the mystery and wonder of knowing Jesus more. As we experience His love in a deeper way, we have to ask ourselves the question:

Do I carry the joy of the Gospel into all areas of my life? What do I have to offer at the manger that Jesus is asking me to bring?

This moment is for you and Jesus. The psalmist tells us to worship, bow down, and kneel before our Maker (Psalms 95:6). The Hebrew word for worship means to fall prostrate or bow down. Physically this means to bow our knees in acknowledgement of Jesus’ Lordship; spiritually it means to surrender all we are to all He is.

Surrender all we are all to all He is! That is when we experience the depth of His love for us, the love that came down at Christmastime.

Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.

- Ephesians 3:17-18

God IS love and God loves you! So much that He sent His Son at Christmastime! May YOU have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is! Merry Christmas everyone!

Pastor Pam

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