Advent Daily Devotional - Day 22

1 John 4:7-10 

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 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. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 

This time of year is about Joy, Love and God being with us. Today we read of God’s love in how He loved us and how we should then replicate and show this to others. 

God Is Love 

The passage today looks at Love and how God IS love - He showed His love to us in sending ‘his one and only Son’ (v9 NIV). I’m also reminded whilst reading this of the famous John 3 v16 - For God So loved the world that he gave his only Son. It blows my mind to think that God loves me that much that He would send Jesus to die in my place for all the sin in my life.  

God loves us unconditionally and nothing that we have done (or even will do) will change that - if we’ve accepted Jesus as our saviour. 

The passage also talks of how we should love and interact with others in the same way Jesus would.  

If we refuse to love then we don’t know the ‘first thing about God’ (ouch!) and ‘you can’t know him if you don’t love’ (The Message Translation).   

Love is shown through your actions 

We can show Jesus to others by what we say and do as an act of love.  

It’s easy to love people we like and get on with but how do you fare with people who get on your nerves or annoy you? How do you react when someone says something that pushes your button? Do you react in a positive way of love - as Jesus would? Do you react with grace, humility and love? 

As Christians that is what we are called to do - to love one another and the world around us and that even means the people we don’t necessarily get on with. 

As we prepare for Christmas from a spiritual perspective let’s also think about how we treat others at this time.  

Christmas is a time when we celebrate together with families and loved ones but it can also bring tension as not all families get on smoothly all the time. There can even be tension in the Christmas dinner planning when timings aren’t going to plan or the puddings got burnt. What would Jesus do in that situation? 

Questions… 

How can we bring Jesus into celebrations with our actions to others? 

How can your actions impact the world around you? Could you be more ethical somewhere in your purchases or could you make a lifestyle change? 

How will you react to someone when you feel annoyed by something they say or do? Can you make a point of being graceful? 

Today's devotional was written by Mark Midwinter.