Living Free This Advent: Receive Fully and Love All
I’ll say it again: Jesus is our greatest gift to meet our greatest need.
Do you grasp the enormity of this gift? We read in John 1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.” (vv. 1-4; CSB).
A lot could be said about this passage. John writes, “in the beginning was the Word” (v. 1a) which means that the “Word” is infinite. He writes, “The Word was with God” (v. 1b) which means that the “Word” enjoys a relationship with God the Father. But perhaps the most significant statements are that “the Word was God” and “in him was life” (vv. 1c, 4). That means the “Word” is divine.
Later, we find out that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (v.14). That’s the part of the passage pointing to Advent. Jesus Christ is finally revealed to us by name in the Gospel of John: “No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side – he has revealed him” (v. 18).
While Jesus’ identity and character as God in the flesh is the major emphasis in this section of Scripture, there is another equally important emphasis. If Jesus is God’s greatest gift, then we need to receive the gift as he intends for us to receive it. John makes this point clear to us when he writes, “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name” (vv. 11-12).
I don’t have space in this devotional to go into depth on the wonderful privileges that are ours as God’s children. It really is one gracious blessing after another! My point is that these tremendous privileges are ours.
Often, it’s a challenge for us to receive anything freely. We think, “what’s the catch?” There is always a catch, right?
Have you ever received a gift from somebody without a heads up? Maybe out of nowhere they blessed you with a gift and you felt bad because you came empty handed? Perhaps you even walked away thinking, “Great, now I have to go out and get them something to even things up.” Why do we think that? It was a gift!
Or, have you been in a conversation about an upcoming gift exchange where everybody was adamant that there was a spending limit? What’s at the root of that decision?
In part, I believe it’s because we struggle to receive freely. We’d rather work our way or earn it in some way, then at least we feel like we deserve it. Receiving involves humility (accepting a gift you didn’t earn) and trust (believing that you don’t need to somehow ‘make up for it’). But receiving is the only way to experience real freedom in Christ.
We must claim our identity, position, and authority in Christ as Gospel truth and then choose to live out of this new identity, not one we manufacture through our own efforts. Only then can we begin to live differently and to love as He does.
John writes in his first epistle, “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God… 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.” (1 John 4:7,9-10 NLT).
God’s love and light are at the center of Advent. I invite you to take some time and meditate on all that is yours in Christ Jesus. As you celebrate Christmas next week and engage in giving and receiving gifts, may you freely embrace your incredible privileges as God’s child.
Merry Christmas!