For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15
The last week of Advent’s theme is love. Advent is a beautiful season to celebrate the coming of Jesus and it is a great time to remind ourselves how much Jesus loves us. Throughout this advent season we have seen that Jesus suffered and was persecuted for us, he laid down his life, and worst of all he took the whole wrath of God for our sake. Jesus gives us the ultimate example of love in his birth, death, and resurrection. Because Jesus loved us so much, we then have the ability to show his love to others. When we are in Christ, his love compels us to show that great love to others.
Who has God put in your path that needs to hear of Christ’s love and see it modeled in your life?
O Holy Night is a song that tells of our reason for rejoicing. We are led through the emotions of those that were waiting for the expected messiah. They fall down in worship and then are led to show that love to others. May we be led to show Jesus’ love to others as well.
O Holy Night, the stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear savior’s birth,
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
’till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees, oh hear the angel voices!
O night divine! O night when Christ was born.
O night, O holy night, O night divine.
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
with glowing hearts by his cradle we stand:
So, led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
here come the wise men from orient land,
the king of kings lay thus in lowly manger,
in all our trials born to be a friend,
He knows our need, to our weakness no stranger!
Behold your king! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your king! Your King!
Before him bend!
Truly he taught us to love one another;
His law is love and his gospel is peace;
Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother,
and in his name all oppression shall cease,
sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we:
Let all within us praise his holy name!
Christ is the Lord, then ever!
Ever praise we! His pow’r and glory, evermore proclaim!
His pow’r and glory, evermore proclaim!
O Holy Night beautifully tells the Christmas story. We see Jesus is the king of kings and we see that he is born in a lowly manger. We see that Jesus is worthy of all of our worship and that he is no stranger to our weakness. What a wonderful king that is mighty but can also empathize with his people. There is no one like Jesus.
I love how this beautiful carol shows us how to worship this mighty king. We fall on our knees and behold this king! Before him we lowly bend. We also sing sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus with everything in us. We are to proclaim his power and glory evermore! Let’s pause and think for a minute about this type of worship. Do we worship King Jesus like this? Does this good news make us fall to our knees? If not, we need to ask God to open our eyes to the splendor and majesty of Jesus. May we praise him forever!
The second to last verse proclaims that Jesus taught us to love one another. Jesus came to earth and gave us the perfect example of love. We are to spend our lives sharing his love with others. May the good news of the gospel be bursting out of us this Advent season. May we take the love that Jesus freely gives us and pass it on to everyone around us.
His pow’r and glory, evermore proclaim!
Journal Prompts
1.) Do you know that Jesus Christ loves you? Do you feel his love for you?
Read Exodus 34:6-7, Deuteronomy 6:5, 7:8-9, Psalm 25:7, 31:7, 33:18, 36:5, 36:7, 57:10, 63:3, 89:1, 136:1, Lamentations 3:22-23, John 3:16, 3:35, Romans 5:5, 5:8, 8:35-37, 12:10, 1 Corinthians 8:3, 13, Colossians 3:14, and Hebrews 10:24
2.) In what ways can you show Jesus’ love to others?
3.) If you don’t feel Jesus’ love for you, ask God to open your eyes to the beauty of this Christmas story.
Dear Heavenly Father,
As we come to the close of this Advent season, may we feel the love that you have lavished upon us that we can be called your children. May we take this love and show others the beautiful gift of our Savior. As we celebrate with family and friends, may Jesus be visible in the way that we love one another.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen