Welcome to Week Four of Advent, the home stretch—the week where we light the final candle before Christmas and celebrate the theme that ties it all together LOVE.
Not the polite, well-behaved kind. Not the Hallmark-movie-snow-falling-just-right kind. But the “God steps into human history and rearranges everything” kind of love. This is the love that doesn’t just send a message. It shows up. With skin on. In a manger. In a world that desperately needed saving. Let’s dig into the most powerful, world-shifting love story ever told.
Love Begins With God Coming Close
John 3:16 is the most quoted verse in the Bible for a reason “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son…” Think about that. God didn’t send a text. He didn’t shout from the sky. He didn’t mail a postcard from heaven saying, “Wish you were here, behaving better.” Instead, He gave. He came. He entered our mess and became Emmanuel—God with us. Love doesn’t stay distant. Love comes close. And Advent is the celebration of a God who refuses to love us from afar.
Love Wrapped in a Manger (Not Exactly Pinterest-Worthy)
When we imagine the Nativity, we often picture a clean stable with soft straw, glowing lanterns, and cows that look freshly brushed. Let’s be real It was probably noisy, smelly, chaotic, and not at all “picture perfect.” And yet Love chose that place. Love didn’t demand a palace. Love didn’t wait for perfection. Love arrived right in the middle of human messiness. That’s huge for us, because it means God’s love shows up in real life, not curated life. If your December has been messy?
You’re in excellent company.
A Love Big Enough for the Whole World—And Small Enough for You
Sometimes we think of God’s love as this huge, sweeping, universal thing (and it is), but we forget that it’s also incredibly personal. Jesus didn’t come because humanity, in general, needed saving. He came because you do. Because I do. Because every beating heart is one He created and calls beloved. Paul writes “Nothing… shall be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.” — Romans 8:39 Not your past. Not your fears. Not your failures. Not your December stress. Not the holiday family drama. Nothing. God’s love is both infinite and intimately aimed at you.
Love That Transforms, Not Just Comforts
Sometimes we treat God’s love like a warm blanket—and yes, it can feel that way. But real love doesn’t just comfort you; it changes you. Jesus came not only to forgive us but to remake us. Love transforms fear into confidence, shame into freedom, hurt into healing, selfishness into generosity, emptiness into purpose. Advent love is powerful, it restores the broken pieces we’ve been hiding.
The Fourth Candle: The Candle of Love
When we light the fourth candle, the whole wreath glows. Hope, Peace, Joy—all illuminated by Love. Because hope is God-loving us into a future, peace is God-loving us into calm, joy is God-loving us into celebration and Love is God loving us… because that’s who He is. 1 John 4:9 tells us “This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world…” Love is not God’s emotion. Love is God’s identity.
A Love Practice for the Week
Each day leading up to Christmas, do one small thing with great love
- Write a kind note
- Send an encouraging text
- Pause and pray for someone
- Give generously
- Forgive freely
- Smile more than you feel like
- Let someone go ahead of you in line (even the grocery holiday lines… be brave)
Love grows when we give it away.
Final Thought: Love Has a Name, and It’s Jesus
This week reminds us that the entire Christmas story—every angel, every prophecy, every star, every hymn—is rooted in one breath taking truth God loves you More than you know. More than you can measure. More than you can outrun. Love came down at Christmas. Love moved into the neighbourhood. Love is still here. So light that fourth candle. Let its warmth hit your heart.
And get ready because the greatest love story in the universe is about to arrive in a manger.