“Regifting the Spirit of Christmas - LOVE”
Leading up to the Christmas Holidays, Monday Meditations will be exploring the Season of Advent and how we can use the act of “REGIFTING” to help us reflect and engage with the Spirit of Christmas.
We have spent some time over the past few weeks exploring the “advent words” of the season and thinking about how we can regift them to others.
To give HOPE to those who need it most.
To help others experience JOY.
To strive for PEACE with all those we engage with.
Today is our final advent thought: Regifting LOVE.
As a Christian, you may think of all the topics this one is the easiest one to regift. After all, acting out our faith requires us to LOVE others.
What does it mean to truly LOVE others? Is there a way to show perfect love?
Q: Before reading any further, take a moment and answer this question… What IS LOVE?
Everyone has a definition of what LOVE is. Most times, these definitions are explanations about what love FEELS like rather than what love ACTS like. We also use the word flippantly and carelessly when talking about our attractions to things.
I love my morning coffee. I like to think that coffee loves me back by helping me wake up and giving me a spark to start my day. It’s highly probable that “LOVE” isn’t supposed to be used in this way, but you get the point I’m trying to make.
I (sometimes) love my dog, especially when he lets me sleep past 5 AM. I’m fairly certain he loves me back, particularly when I’m holding a treat or taking him for a walk. In this case, my dog loves me because I provide things that make him happy.
I remember falling in love with my wife before we got married. The feeling of euphoria I felt when we were together was intoxicating. I saw a better future with her in my life and eventually asked her to marry me. Why? Because I LOVED her, and she also loved me. We knew that love was part of our relationship, but we never really discussed what love meant. We understood what it felt like and wanted more of it for (and with) each other. When we got married, we were young and naïve. We never thought much about what “being IN love” would mean and would need from us.
Q: In the past week, how have you used the word LOVE without really thinking about what it truly means?
I’m sure we could all have an engaging discussion about what love is, what it does, how we feel it, and how it grows. We can talk about times when we have been shown love and how it changed us. We might even be able to give some very clear examples of when we have shown love to others.
Let’s unpack a couple of concepts here:
1 John 4:7-12 - LOVE is God’s gift to all of us.
Verse 7 (NIV) says, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.” Reading the entire passage, we see:
Love comes from God
To know God is to love
God showed love by sending Jesus
Love drives fear away
God first loved us
We are to give it away
What a list! Many places in the scriptures help us understand the true meaning of love but this passage sums it up.
Nowhere does it say that you know you have love because you will “feel butterflies and see rainbows” or experience a feeling of euphoria. It doesn’t explain the concept of love as something we should feel for inanimate things.
Love is something that was created by God Himself. It was modelled by His son, Jesus. It lives in us through His Holy Spirit. The purpose of love is to give it away. It creates a desire for everyone to know him more. God IS LOVE. Full stop. It isn’t anything else.
Romans 5:8 - LOVE is unconditional.
Too many times we are guilty of withholding love from those who don’t make us feel good. Sometimes, we wrongly give love as a reward for good behaviour.
I’m so thankful that God didn’t act in this way when he expressed his love for us. In fact, he did the opposite.
While we were sinners, acting selfishly, living for ourselves, and chasing our desires, he sent his only Son, Jesus, to show us a better way and remove the penalty of death.
He loves us unconditionally and asks that we do the same for others even if it means sacrificing ourselves in the process. Love sometimes hurts when we give it away. It’s in these times that love is being expressed in its purest form.
John 3:16 - LOVE is to be given away.
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (NLT)
This is probably the first bible verse that I memorized as a child. It’s one of those “hall of fame” verses that we all know. Yet, as we learned it, did we ever think about it in the context of Christmas?
As we ponder the words here, we see that Love was sent, lived here for a while, and now gives us eternal life. I cannot think of a more thoughtful, valuable, and loving Christmas gift than that! Jesus is the most PERFECT gift ever given.
Q: How, specifically will you regift God’s love with others in the week, month, and the year ahead? Who needs it most right now?
God’s love is a gift that “keeps on giving”, especially when we give it away. God gave it to us, and He allows us to regift it to others. In fact, He encourages and expects us to do just that.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank you for these thoughts today. I thank you for the HOPE you give. I praise you for the JOY you bestow. I rest in the PEACE you provide. I also accept the gift of LOVE, your Son Jesus, that you so willingly gave to me. I pray I would be a good steward of all these concepts and share each of them with those You have placed near me. In Jesus’ name, I approach you today. Amen.
Blessings always and all-ways,
Steve Shrout
President
Special Note:
If you enjoyed today’s message, then share it with someone. Also, use this content and questions as a discussion guide in your next Forum Group meeting.
Attached to this email is a printable PDF you can use to help with your meditation and reflection. I encourage you to print it, answer the questions and then keep it in a Corpath binder or folder for future reference and thought. You will receive a new PDF each week with each new Monday Meditation, and, over time, your binder will become a book representing your Corpath journey of BUSINESS thoughts, personal LIFE development and SPIRITUAL growth.
