Advent: The Gift of Love
I John 4:7-11
Introduction: Our
Advent theme this year is the Gift, and “gifts” of Christmas. The gift is JESUS,
and the gifts we are talking about are perspectives on what we have been given
in Him. Last week we were reminded from Paul’s letter to Titus that Christmas
means hope for those who trust
Christ. Now this week, we consider “The Gift of Love.” “I love Christmas,”
many will say, “Especially the parties and presents!” That is not what we have
in mind. Love for our families is certainly something we should cherish, but
even that is not the most fundamental connection between love and Christmas. It’s
a revelation of God’s love for us.
I’ve
actually heard people say, “Why do you people have to ruin Christmas by making
it religious?”! That kind of thinking is what is behind the “Happy Holidays”
greetings that have displaced Christmas for many. We are not making it
religious, other than affirming that we are celebrating the historical fact
of the Incarnation of Christ, and celebrating what that means to us. Today
we’ll consider the Gift of Love in the Christmas story. It is not primarily
about our love for God (though that should
be our response), but rather God’s revelation of His love for us in
sending the Son. There are a lot of
Scriptures we could turn to consider “The Gift of Love.” Matthew and Luke are
the two gospels that give us the most detail about the circumstances leading up
to the birth of Jesus. John’s Gospel starts in eternity past but really
emphasizes the revelation of God’s love in the incarnation. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God… and the Word became flesh and dwelt among
us…” (1:1,14). It’s John that tells us so explicitly why He came, “For God so loved the world that He
gave his only begotten Son...” (3:16). As I considered this theme I decided to start
with John, but rather than in His gospel, in his first epistle. I counted some 46
times in five chapters that John uses the word “love,” either as a noun or as a
verb, in this little letter. A favorite
verse of mine is one at the center of the passage we’ll look at today: I John 4:9. We memorized it as a family
doing our devotional advent readings together through the years. The NIV
translation says: “This is how God showed
his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might
live through Him.” That brings us to…
The Maine* Idea: “Christmas” is how God showed His love among us: He
sent His Son to give us life! Let that move you to love Him and to love one
another.
I. God has revealed his love to humans: “In this the love of God was made manifest among us…”
(v.9). THIS is how God
showed His love… The omnipotent Creator of the Universe, the One who is all
powerful, all knowing, so Holy that He is of purer eyes than to look upon
iniquity, revealed Himself to fallen humans. He is a loving God. Immediately
before our passage, in I John 4:7,8, we read…
“Beloved, let us
love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and
knows God. 8 He who does not
love does not know God, for God is love.”
Not only is love,
in its purest sense, an intrinsic aspect of the nature of God, v.9 tells that
God “…made manifest…” or revealed
His love. He showed us His love, He has chosen to reveal His love to humans by
intervening in human history.
Karl Barth, a famous and very influential
German theologian, said that the most profound theological truth he learned in
a lifetime of study was, “Jesus loves me
this I know, for the Bible tells me so…” God loves us, and God revealed
that love so that we could see it and understand it. God involved himself in human history –
this is counter the view of “deism” that pictures the universe as a giant
machine that God set in motion, but in which He does not involve himself today.
The truth is that God has revealed
himself to us in history, and through His Word.
In our passage, I John 4:9 is
telling us that Christmas manifests or “shows” the love of God. The verse before says “God is love.”
What does that mean? Well we know what it looks like. It looks like a manger in Bethlehem, a baby wrapped
in rags, no room, no comforts, “nowhere to lay
his head.” Ultimately, it looks like a
cross on a hill, nail pierced hands, a crown of thorns, a pierced side. “In this
the love of God was made manifest among us…” He could have sent a letter
(and He did), He could have come for a visit and taught us the truth (and He
did), He spoke to us and lived for a while among us, but he went much further,
He did the unimaginable. Christmas
is how God showed His love among us: He sent His Son
to rescue us, to give us life. It should motivate us to show our love for him and for one
another.
II. God revealed his love to humans by sending His
Son into this sin cursed world “…that God sent his only Son
into the world…” God sent his Son to die for us—
This is what manifested [revealed,
showed forth…] God’s love. Remember
Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22, Justin preached on that a few weeks ago. Abraham obeyed God, and raised the knife to slay
his son, his beloved son, the son of promise. God intervened and the angel
said, “Now I know you fear God…”
His action demonstrated his heart. Words are easy, actions speak louder
than words. Husbands, love you wives. Its more than just “saying” “I love you”
now and then. Do you give her time, are
you willing to listen, do you desire her good even before your own? Christians, Jesus said, more than once, “love
one another.” You might think, “I love everyone, I just want nothing to do with
most of them!” If faith without works is dead being by itself, love without
works is not biblical love. God showed us his love. He concerned
himself with us. He sent His Son, to die for us. Paul says, “…He spared not his own Son, but delivered Him
up for us all…”
God visited us. Remember in
Matthew’s account Joseph was reminded of the words of Isaiah, “You shall call his name Emmanuel.” Which
means, “God with us.” Paul said in Philippians 2, “Though he existed in the form of God, he did not regard equality with
God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a
servant, and being made in the likeness of man.”
Think of that: God the Son came not just for a
visit, but knowing what would happen. He came to die for us. This is the
profound truth expressed in the most famous verse of scripture, John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He
gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but
have everlasting life.” Romans 5:8 makes
it clear that God’s love is not earned or deserved: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us,
in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
That is the story of Christmas, “the Word was made flesh and lived for a while
among us…” His life, and His death, revealed God’s love and accomplished
salvation for all who would believe. Christmas
is how God showed His love among us: He sent His Son
to give us life. It should motivate us to show our love for him and for one
another.
III. God revealed His love to humans by sending His
Son into this sin cursed world to die so
that we could have life: “…so
that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his
Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
God loved us so much, that he sent His Son to
die for us so that we could live—“…that we might live through
Him…” THAT is what love looks like. Obviously
John is talking about eternal life, life with meaning, the abundant life of
blessing and purpose that God created us for. Most importantly, a life in relationship with
our Creator. We can experience that by grace
through faith, because of what Jesus did for us. We read in
John 10:10-11
"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I
have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. 11 "I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”
Jesus is talking about more than his desire that
we have biological life, that our heart keeps beating our brain waves
functioning normally. He is talking about more than the idea that we’ll live a
long time, or even forever. He is referring to a quality of life that
goes beyond the momentary flicker that is this world. He is talking about the
abundant life of blessing, life with meaning in fellowship with our Creator and Redeemer. He is talking about the life that we were created to enjoy. Jesus
came, and demonstrated God’s love, by laying down his life so that we could
have that kind of life. We can hardly
understand what it cost, he did it for us. The love parents have for their children can be a picture of God's love. I came across a story I may have shared before of a parent’s love…
A thirty-six-year-old mother
was discovered to be in the advanced stages of terminal cancer. One doctor
advised her to spend her remaining days enjoying herself on a beach in Acapulco.
A second physician offered her the hope of living two to four years with the grueling
side effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatment. She penned these words to
her three small children: “I’ve chosen to try to survive for you. This has some
horrible costs, including pain, loss of my good humor, and moods I won’t be
able to control. But I must try this, if only on the outside chance that I
might live one minute longer. And that minute could be the one you might need
me when no one else will do. For this I intend to struggle, tooth and nail, so
help me God.”
She knew the cost, but for the sake of her children she made a choice. Jesus
knew the cost when in the counsel of the Godhead the plan of redemption was formed
in eternity past. He knew exactly what he was doing, when he left the Father’s
side, and took a human nature, to be born of Mary. He loved us that much. This
is how God showed His love among us…
He “sent” His Son. The word “sent” in verses 8 and 9 is
the verb that is related to the word “apostle,” one who is sent on a mission. The
Father sent the Son on a mission: to be a sacrifice for sinners. The word “propitiation” is related to the word
translated “mercy seat” in the Greek translation of the Old Testament (called
the Septuagint [LXX]) and in Hebrews 9:5, “Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing
the mercy seat...” [hilasterion].
The mercy seat was the place of “atonement.”
The Son was sent as a “propitiation,” as an “atoning sacrifice.” The word
translated atonement here in I John 4:10 occurs only one other time in the New
Testament, also in 1 John, in I John 2:2, “He
is the propitiation for our sins…” In the LXX, such as in Ezekiel 44:27, it
is used to describe the “sin offering.” John is saying that God showed His love
by sending His Son to be the one and only sin offering for us, the
perfect sacrifice which all other sacrifices prefigured and anticipated. The babe
in the manger was the Lamb of God who would take away the in of the the world. Christmas is how God showed His love among us: He sent His Son
to give us life. It should motivate us to show our love for Him and for one
another.
IV. “Beloved,
if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another…” (v.11).
Remember
Alexander MacLaren’s words, “Love is the
only fire hot enough to melt the iron obstinacy of a creature’s will.” God not only told us what to do, He showed
us how to live. As we celebrate the demonstration of God’s Love in the Gift of
Christmas, will you allow His Spirit, to melt your heart with the truth of His
amazing grace? “Behold what manner of
love the Father has given unto us, that we should be called the children of
God—and such we are!” (I John 3:1).
Some of you are old enough to remember the
capture of the U.S.S. Pueblo by the North Koreans on January 23, 1968. The North
Koreans claimed the spy ship entered their territorial waters, and captured the
ship and its 82 surviving crew members (one was killed). Over the next year the
men were brutally treated.
At one point a group of
men were made to sit around a table for hours. Finally the door was flung open
and a guard brutally beat the man in the
first chair with his rifle. The next day, as each man sat in his place, the
door was thrown open and the man in the first chair was beaten again. On the third
day it happened again, the same man being beaten. The next day, knowing the man
couldn’t survive another beating, a young sailor took his place. When the door
was opened the guard automatically beat the new victim senseless. For weeks,
each day, a new man stepped forward to sit in that horrible chair, knowing full
well what would happen. At last the guards gave up in exasperation. They were
unable to beat that kind of sacrificial love.
Jesus took the chair for us,
knowing what would happen, knowing that it would not be just a brutal beating, but
a horrible death. Because He loved us, we
should love one another. God showed us His love. Love shows itself in actions.
That starts in your oikos, that small group of people that see you all the time, the
people God has strategically placed on the “front burner” of your life. Do your actions show love? John said “If God so loved us, we ought to love one
another.” In the early church
Christians were marked by their love for one another, practical love that could
be seen. The unbelieving second century Greek writer Lucian said,
“It is incredible to see the fervor with which the people of that religion
help each other in their wants. They spare nothing. Their first legislator
[Jesus] put it into their heads that they are brethren.”
The African church father Tertullian
said the same thing from the perspective of a believer,
“It is our care for the helpless, our practice of lovingkindness, that
brands us in the eyes of many of our opponents. ‘Look!’ that say. ‘How they love
one another! Look how they are prepared to die for one another!’”
That means reaching out
to one another and being involved in each other’s lives. That means putting the
needs of others before our own. In the context of the church it means living
like the family we are: forgiving, helping, encouraging, building up one
another, sometimes confronting one another. As we interact with the world, it
means showing Christ’s love by being intentional about developing relationships
with those in our sphere of influence, at work, at the Y, in school, with our
neighbors. It means loving them enough that we are willing to risk rejection,
but because we love them, we seek opportunities to speak the truth, and to tell
them about the hope we have found in Jesus.
What is God saying to me in this passage? Christmas is how God showed His love among us: He sent His Son
to give us life. Does that stir a response in you? Does it motivate you to love
Him in return, and to love one another?
What would God have me to do in response to this
passage?
Have you made a conscious effort to keep the love of God demonstrated in the
incarnation at the forefront of your Christmas celebration? It’s not all about
our traditions, it’s all about Jesus. God showed us His love. He
reached out, and got involved in our
story by bringing us into His story,
even though it cost Him so much. Think of the love that took! Do we love
Him in return? And this is harder: Do we love one another? It’s not just what say we have in our hearts. It means having
the mind of Christ, being willing to “look
out not only for our own personal interests, but also for the interest of
others.” This month some show that by delivering Christmas baskets to those
who serve us in our community. Others will reach out to those in the nursing
home singing and visiting and bringing some cheer. Many others have helped with gifts to some
with needs. Some will make visits and invite folks over, and bake cookies for
neighbors. Perhaps the greatest act of
love is to pray fervently for those in your sphere of influence, and to look
for every opportunity to point them to Jesus.
As we saw in 1 Peter 3:15-16 “…always
being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the
hope that is in you; 16 yet
do it with gentleness and respect…” That
is love! Think about that, Amen.
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