The Love of Christmas

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." [John 3:16]

So, we have reached the 4th advent Sunday and the candle that symbolises love: the Angels candle.

At its heart, the story of Christmas, is a story about love; God’s immeasurable, sacrificial, world-changing love for us. The beauty of this love is how it doesn’t come to us in grandeur or from a distance. Instead, it arrives in the most tender way possible: a baby born in a manger.

Vulnerable.

Humble.

Close enough to touch.

The Creator, our God, stepped down into our messy, broken world, not with fanfare, but in stillness, wrapped in swaddling cloth and laid in a feeding trough.

And why?

Because He loved us. Not because we were deserving but because His love is that vast, that deep, that relentless.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

There is no more powerful way to deliver this message than to let John 3:16 speak for itself. The boundless love of God, the sacrificial gift of His Son, and the promise of eternal life to believers.

This is a love that chose to walk in the flesh, to experience our pain, our struggles, our weariness. A love that willingly stepped into the brokenness of humanity, not to observe from afar but to truly live among us. Jesus laughed, wept, and carried the weight of human sorrow. All so that He could redeem and restore what was lost.

The angels declared it as “good news of great joy for all the people.”

The shepherds, the outcasts of society, were the first to hear it.

The Magi, travelling from afar, remind us that this love knows no borders.

Even Mary and Joseph, walking their road of faith and obedience, show us that love, often looks like humble service, and quiet surrender.

And even after giving my life to the LORD, just over 9 years ago, it still blows my mind that God’s love is so personal. He didn’t send an emissary or write a distant letter; He came Himself. He walked among us, experienced life as we do, and ultimately gave His life for us.

The story of Christmas, is the story of a love so vast it cannot be measured, so tender it meets us exactly where we are, and so powerful, it changes everything.

This Christmas, as the carols play and the gifts are exchanged, let’s pause, and absorb the wonder of it all. God loves each and every one of us unconditionally. He loves us enough to step into time, to become flesh, to experience pain and joy, and to offer us an abundant life.

How humbling is that!

Have a blessed Christmas.