During the Advent season, we celebrate the birth of Christ and look forward to His second coming. But what do we, as His disciples, do in the period of longing in between?
We love.
The word “love,” in Hebrew, is ahavah. Broadly, it means affection, but it also means care that one shows another, through actions. Between Christ’s birth and second coming we are called, by Jesus, to obey His command to love God and each other (see Luke 10:27).
As His disciples, love should be our character, the command that we obey, and the fruit that others enjoy.
In a world full of brokenness, humanity longs to be loved. It’s through us that the broken world sees what it means to be loved unconditionally by God. Through us, the broken world should see what it means to reciprocate that love back to God, who then instructs us to love each other.
“I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too are to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love and unselfish concern for one another” (John 13:34-35, AMP).
Jesus was very clear that the world does not know that we are His disciples by what we know, but by how we love. Love is when we realize we are all necessary and look out for the best of one another. It is when we edify, support one another, and share what good the other has done.
Love is who God is; it is His character. It is His command and a fruit of His Spirit. As His disciples, love should be our character, the command that we obey, and the fruit that others enjoy. We are His love on Earth, and through our love, we attract the broken people of this world. The end result should be broken people coming to us, and then us reconciling them back to His love.
Let’s help others experience Emmanuel—God with us—through the affection and actions of love toward each other and the broken world around us.
Prayer + reflection
- Read through John 13 and ask God what loving each other looks like.
- Pray that God reveals to us the areas in our lives and churches that we need to adjust, so that everyone knows we’re His disciples.
- Thank God for His love in affection and action toward us. Ask the Holy Spirit to grow the fruit of love in us so that others would enjoy it.
