Love

What do you think of when you hear the word "Love"? Assuming you are married, I'm sure you love your husband or wife very deeply. If you have children, I'm sure you love them as well. Children tend to love their parents and grandparents. But take it to a whole new level and a question arises: do you love Jesus? Do you know Him as your personal Lord and Savior? If you do, then you should love Him deeply with all your heart.

Sunday, December 24 will be the fourth Sunday of Advent. The Bible theme this Sunday is LOVE. Again, there are several different directions I could go with this, but as I thought about love, I thought about the greatest love there is. Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends" (John 15:13). That means the greatest love ever shown to us was when God the Father Sent His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our forgiveness.

With this being Christmas, That truth sends me to Isaiah 9:6-7:

For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

Of the increase of His government and peace

There will be no end,

Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,

To order it and establish it with judgment and justice

From that time forward, even forever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

 You might ask, "what have theses two verse to do with love?" God loves us so much He sent us Jesus. He was born in a stable and laid in a manger (feeding trough for the animals) for comfort (Luke 2:6-7). An angel announced His birth to shepherds who were watching their flock at night. They immediately  ran to Bethlehem to witness this great event (Luke 2:8-16).

Isaiah 9:6-7 kind of tells the whole story of God's great love for us. "For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given" (v. 6a). That first Christmas morning so long ago was the beginning of God revealing how much He loves us. He loves us so much that Jesus, the Son of God, set aside the glory that was His in heaven and became one of us (Phil. 2:5-7). He was born that morning so long ago to walk this earth with us and to die on the cross to provide salvation for us (v. 8). That is true love.

As you follow through these verses, they take you through His life, His death on the cross, His resurrection the third day, and His ascension back to heaven. Isaiah then jumps ahead to the time just after His return, His Second Coming. It is then that the "government will be upon His shoulder" (Is. 9:6b). Then "His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (v. 6c).

He will then reign in peace, to which "there will be no end" (v. 7a). He will sit on David's throne and rule "over His kingdom" (v. 7b). He will bring "justice from that time forward" which will last "forever" (v. 7b). It will all be carried out by "the zeal of the Lord" (v. 7c).

Among the Christmas songs and hymns, there is one from the late 1800s entitled, "Love Came Down at Christmas." Starting at the incarnation, the birth of Christ that first Christmas morning, God  has shown how great a love He has for us. You might say that God poured out His love when Jesus was born that first Christmas morning. Amen.