December 22, 2019 · 1 John 4:9–10

Advent: Love Is Real

“Love is real. This is a hugely profound statement. To me, it's almost a proof of God's existence. It starts with empirical observation. We all experience love in this life, even if we're a turkey, and the Christmas story is about love. First John four, for seven reads like this. Dear friends, let us continue to love one another. For love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows him. But anyone who does not love does not know God. For God is love. See, love comes from God. But God is love, and everyone who experiences love in this world has an experience of God. People pretend that they don't know God, but they know love. Some people pretend to know God, but they don't love, and it shows that they don't know God. And this is what it says in verse nine. It gives the Christmas story. God showed how much He loved us by sending his one and only son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love. Not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Verses nine and ten are profound, my friends. This is real love. God gave us Jesus. came to be one of us.”