Many Advent candles have 5 candles. The fourth one is Love, and the 5th one is the Christ candle. I have always thought that the beautiful thing about these two candles is how they go hand in hand. For Christ is love, and love is the motivation for Him arriving to earth in the first place. Love is what took Him from the manger to the cross-love for His Father, and for us.
Love is perhaps one of the most impactful attributes of God. It’s the one we talk about most, we preach on most, we quote most. But it might just be one of the ones we cheapen the most. Sometimes it’s good to just get back to the basics, to remind ourselves of the love of God and how He has shown this love. There are hundreds of beautiful verses in the Bible that talk about the love of God, but one of my favorite actually is an obscure passage out of Matthew that doesn’t even mention love. This passage takes place in the Garden of Gethsemane, right when Jesus is about to be taken into custody and led away to be tried and ultimately crucified. Peter begins to fight back against the crowd who has come to arrest Jesus, and Jesus tells him to stop.
“Then Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?’” Matthew 26:52-53
I am floored every time I read this passage. I think we skim over this idea all too quickly. Despite our vile, evil, disgusting sin, God still loves us. So much so, that He sent Jesus. The King of all, the God of the ages, put on flesh because He loved us. He came as a humble, little, vulnerable baby. And the angels watched, they announced His arrival. He grew up, He started His ministry, and poured love out on all the people. He healed, He comforted, He walked the dirty streets and cast out demons. He taught and He ministered. He lived homeless and went to the poorest of the poor. And the angels watched.
Then, on one of the darkest nights in history, He went to the garden to pray. And when He was so overwhelmed with pain and grief, an angel appeared and strengthened Him. Then the moment came, where He would be led away to be crucified. And He drops this bombshell…the angels are standing by, ready to end it all in a moment. But He doesn’t call them. I wonder if they were confused? Then He is mocked, beaten, ridiculed, and tortured…and still the angels watch. He carries His cross up to Calvary, He can’t even carry it Himself…but still He doesn’t call. The King of the universe, who commands all authority, allows nails to be driven into His hands and feet. Heaven holds its breath, the angels are poised at the ready. But He doesn’t call for them. The cross is raised up and He hangs there, fighting for each breath. And the angels watch in horror. God watches in horror. Because with one word, one thought, the angel armies would have broken loose and it would have been over. But He doesn’t call for them. He hangs there, quiet and submissive. He becomes our sin. He holds the weight of death, hell, and centuries of evil sin. While we mock, beat, and hurl insults. His Father turns away. But still He doesn’t call for the angels. Instead He gives up His Spirit, He stares death in the face and willingly dies.
And then the story gets better, and we celebrate because He conquered satan, sin, and death by rising again from the dead. We like to skip to this part, and perhaps that is not a bad thing. But when we gloss over the life, betrayal, suffering, and death of Jesus, we miss a deeper understanding of His love. Because only the greatest love could endure that for us. Only a love so deep and real could walk all the way to Calvary and submit to the Father’s will. And only an enduring, eternal, powerful love could still offer that love to us after experiencing our sin and death for Himself. Only a love like that could refrain from calling the hosts of heaven to His assistance. That is the love He offers us. That is the love you can experience every day.
How do we respond to this love? The same way as saints all through the ages…with pure worship. Everything we have is His. Every dream, every desire, every heartbeat. Nothing is too important that we won’t give it up for Him. No sin, even the smallest impurity, will hold us back from total surrender. We don’t allow petty self-righteousness to rule our relationships with others. We are not rude, self-seeking, or arrogant. We treat others with the love we have been shown. We don’t attack or demean them. No idol of entertainment, music, relationship, habits, achievement is allowed in our life. We are consumed with seeking the presence of God, and doing everything He asks us to do with the best of our ability. That is what a life looks like when it has experienced the love of God. Have you experienced His love? He is waiting and willing for you to accept it.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16
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