This Changes Everything
Advent holds a tension: the King has come, and yet the world is still groaning. The light has dawned, but shadows remain. We’re not just remembering Jesus’ arrival—we’re living in the space between His coming and His return.
And in that space, God is not passive. He is present. Active. Leading. Loving. He doesn’t just send help—He gives Himself. In Jesus, love takes on flesh, not to stay at a distance, but to draw near and stay near. We’re not only called to love, we’re held by it.
This week begins with being loved—deeply, honestly, right where you are. That’s where it starts. But it doesn’t stay there. Because the kind of love God gives doesn’t just comfort—it compels. It draws us into what He’s doing: remaking the world with mercy, courage, and hope. That’s the heart of Advent love—not just that Jesus entered our story, but that He brought a whole new story with Him. A story where love is not just an idea, but a way of life. Where the poor are lifted, the broken are restored, and justice begins to bloom.
And the good news? We don’t have to conjure that love ourselves. The Spirit takes what we’ve received and makes it active—empowering us to live it out in real, practical, and transformative ways. To restore what’s broken. To confront what’s unjust. To build what’s good.
This is how the Kingdom comes—through ordinary lives marked by compassion, Spirit-shaped love, and everyday faithfulness.
So this week, ask not just “where is God with me?” but “what kind of life is He leading me into?” Because Advent doesn’t end at the manger. It calls us to follow the One who came in love—and still comes.
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This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
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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. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
DEEPER
Jesus begins His public ministry by declaring Isaiah’s prophecy fulfilled: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me… to proclaim good news to the poor… to bind up the broken-hearted… to set the oppressed free.”
This isn’t a slogan. It’s a manifesto of love in action.
This is the tension we live in—God’s new world has already begun, but it’s not yet complete. Love is what helps us see it breaking in, even in small ways. It’s begun in seed form, and love is the soil in which it grows. A love that restores. A love that confronts injustice. A love that moves toward pain, not away from it.
And this is where Advent lands—with a God who doesn’t just arrive, but invites. Who doesn’t just dwell with us, but invites us to live as if His Kingdom is already near—because it is! That’s what Christmas is all about. Nearness. Love becomes more than a feeling—it becomes a way of being in the world. It disrupts apathy. It demands our attention. It draws us toward a life that witnesses rather than retreats.
In a culture that can lean into cynicism or comfort, the call to love is a call to resistance. To hope. To renewal. We aren’t spectators to this story. We are participants. Love is how we join in.
Because if Jesus is Immanuel—God with us—then His love is still breaking in. Through our patience. Our presence. Our forgiveness. Our courage to live differently. This kind of love doesn’t always come easily. But it always bears fruit.
So as Advent draws to a close, let love lead you. Not just into Christmas Day—but into Kingdom life. Let yourself be loved—deeply, honestly, right where you are. Because knowing God’s love is what makes it possible to live a life of love. Love is the arrival. And love is the way forward.