LOVE.
We’ve been on a journey. Over the past three weeks, we’ve journeyed through the season of Advent.
On the first week of our journey, we lit the first candle of the Advent wreath and meditated on the theme, “HOPE”. On the second week, our journey took us along the path of “PEACE”. And, last week, we lit the third candle of the wreath and journeyed along the path of “JOY”.
This fourth, and final, week of Advent, we light the fourth candle of the advent wreath as our journey takes us down the path of “LOVE” and toward the manger on Christmas day – when we light the white “Christ” candle.
But, what is “LOVE”? Where is LOVE?
Oliver, from the 1960s movie of the same name – and based on Charles Dickens 1838 novel, “Oliver Twist” – performs a thought provoking song, “Where is love?”.
A young Oliver, after the passing of his mom, would spend the first years of his life in a poorly run orphanage. Soon, Oliver is then sold to an undertaker, locked in a coffin and wonders, in song, “Where is love? Does it fall from skies above? Is it underneath the willow tree That I’ve been dreaming of? …”.
It’s as if he’s crying out, “There’s got to be something better. There’s got to be a better life. Somewhere”. How many of us have cried the same?
Eventually, he would fall into a den of pickpockets and thieves representing an “evil”, “sinful”, type of life. And, in time, Oliver is “saved” (so-to-speak) by a wealthy gentleman, Mr. Brownlow, who represents “good” and a type of “righteousness”.
In the end, Oliver moves from the evil, “sinful”, type of life to the more righteous, “good”, type of life that the wealthy Mr. Brownlow provides for him.
It’s sort of like Christ coming into the world, on Christmas, to “save” us and to provide a way for us to move from a sinful type of life to a more righteous type of life.
Where is love?
John wrote, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” — 1 John 4:7-8 NKJV.
God is love.
And, he who does not love, does not know God.
Not my words but, rather, John’s.
“Love” is a central theme throughout all of scripture.
We learn in the famous “love chapter”, 1 Corinthians 13:13, among other things, “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love”. And, when Christ is asked what the greatest commandment is, He responds (paraphrased), “The greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, mind and soul. The second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as you love yourself” – Matthew 22:34-40.
Love God. Love our neighbor. Love ourselves.
And, then, of course, John wrote in his gospel, “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. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” — John 3:16-17.
Christmas is the time when “love” came down from heaven and walked among us. Then, before returning back to His heaven, where He is seated today, He made a promise to us – that He would come back for us.
What is love? Where is love?
God is love and He calls us to love Him, and one another.
That begs the questions, How do you love God?, How do you love others? – Even the “un-love-able”? Ew, that’s a tough one, huh? And, finally, how do you love yourself?
As we journey through this fourth week of Advent, towards Christmas, let us take time to mediate on these things, to seek and love God with all our hearts, and to love each other as Christ commanded we should.
Peace, blessings and love,
Ch. Doug