This Sunday is week two of "Preparing the Way" for the anticipated arrival of Jesus. On this second Advent Sunday, we will be lighting a second purple candle. The second Advent candle represents love.
When I think about God's love for us, my mind is immediately drawn to Ephesians 3:17-19, where Paul writes, "Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is to great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all fullness of life and power that comes from God." (NLT) Over the next few days, I want you to consider the 4 aspects of God's love that are described in verse 17. 1. God's love is wide. This distinctly sets his love apart from our love, which tends to be narrow, as we bestow our love only to a privileged few. Think about the person you most dislike in this world. It could be a father or mother, brother or sister, a neighbor or co-worker. Now think about the fact that God is crazy in love with this person. Read II Timothy 1:9. 2. God's love is long. God's love is never-ending. There is no beginning and no ending to his love. Read Jeremiah 31:3. 3. God's love is high. A better term for this aspect of God's love might be pinnacle. His love is the ultimate, the greatest love. We live in a culture that desires the best.....the best clothes, cars, coffee, house. God's love is the best of the best. The riches, highest, purest of all loves. Read Psalm 36:5. 4. God's love is deep. God's love cuts through the dirt and rock in order to reach us at our core. God loves us in spite of the bad and ugly things that are hidden in our lives. Read Romans 8:38-39. During this season of Advent, we celebrate that moment in history when God's love became tangible, as he sent his Son, Jesus to earth to be a living example of God's crazy love for us. God's love should compel us to ask the question, "How crazy is my love for God"? Do I love God completely? Do I love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength AND do I love my neighbor as myself. This is how I show my love for God. I think Jesus sums up what it means to be crazy in love with God when he says in Luke 14 that we are to love God more than our own family and even our own lives. QUESTION: How will you begin to celebrate God's crazy love for you? See you Sunday. Pastor Doug
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