Christmas Eve December 24, 2019
1 John 4:7-16
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
In the Name of Jesus.
God the Father, we will know him for his love.
By his love the Father does what he does toward us.
Now we rejoice in the Father’s sending of his Son to be born of Mary.
It is not to show his might and power. For that the Father could’ve just sent down fire and brimstone on the Earth.
It is not to impress or amaze. For that he could’ve simply had locusts eat all the crops or even have had flooded the whole world, killing everything but one boatload of animals and people. He could’ve left it at that, and we would’ve been impressed.
It’s not to convince or make a proof of himself. For that he could’ve sent philosophers and wise men to make the argument for God, and we would’ve been persuaded by the fine logic and proofs.
In his love the Father does this. His love for the sinner, his love for each one of us and our families.
He sent his Son into our world of death, that in Him we would have life; his Son into our world of lies, that in Him we would have truth; his Son into our world of despair and hatred, than in him, and him alone, we would have hope and love—Love for God, love for one another.
That first Christmas morning: Life entered death, and overcame; truth entered lies, and prevailed; love entered enmity, and triumphed. All because, God the Father sent his Son, and the Son entered the world and gave himself.
Because, Christmas is more than the astounding account of a miracle of God coming-in-the flesh. It is a holy Baby being born into our world out of the love of the Father. The Son of God coming-in-the-flesh for the sole purpose of taking upon his himself all our sin, taking up into his life all our despair and our shame, and having taken it all upon himself, then putting it to death in his own body on the cross.
Without that word of the cross, without the proclamation that he died in our place, for us, purely and simply out of love for us—without the word of the cross, then we might be tempted to reduce the Christmas story to nothing more than a story of a special miracle baby intended to show impress and amaze and to convince us to look at just how awesome God can be.
But against that stands that one word: Love. Out of love for us, the Father sent his Son. Out of his love for the world, for the sinner, his love of you and me and our children, the Son gave himself.
For love his Son, Jesus, took our sins upon himself, so that John the Baptist was able to describe him as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
For love his Jesus stood in front of Caiaphus and Pilate and the others and let himself be spit upon and yelled at.
For love he let nails be driven into his hands and his feet, so that he could be lifted up to die in front of the world.
For love. 1 John 4:9:
9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.
Now, he has makes us the people of his love. Now, as John says, we love God. Not that we did love him, or are even able to love him, but that he first loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
This is the Christmas gift, that he has made us the people of his love. A people living through him. Through the one who died for us, we now have life. He forgives our sins, in his Gospel, he overcomes our fears and dispels our despair. Through the one given as a baby in Mother Mary’s arms, we now have love—love for God, love for one another.
It is in his love that is love the Father gave us his Son on that first Christmas morning. And we now live through him:
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
IN THE NAME OF JESUS.