God With Us, God for Us
Advent is a season shaped by love.
Not the kind of love that depends on emotion or circumstance, but the kind of love that moves toward us—steadfast, faithful, and freely given. As we journey through Advent, we are reminded that God’s love is not an idea to be admired from a distance. It is a living promise, fulfilled in presence.
Advent love does not wait for the world to be ready.
It comes close.
Love That Acts
Throughout Scripture, God’s love is never passive. It moves. It speaks. It takes form in action.
The familiar words from John’s Gospel remind us that God so loved the world that God gave. Love is revealed not only in words, but in what God is willing to do for the sake of creation. Advent is the season in which we prepare to remember that great gift—the giving of God’s very self.
Love is the reason Christ comes.
Love is the reason we wait.
Love Made Visible
The Christmas story tells us that God chose to reveal love not through power or force, but through vulnerability. God enters the world as a child—dependent, fragile, and fully human.
This tells us something essential about the nature of God’s love.
God’s love is not distant or detached. It is present. It is personal. It is willing to dwell among us in the ordinary places of life. Advent love reminds us that nothing about our lives is too small, too broken, or too ordinary for God to enter.
Love That Makes Room
Love, at its heart, creates space.
It makes room for grace.
Room for healing.
Room for people to belong.
As we prepare our hearts for Christmas, Advent invites us to consider where we are making room for love—in our homes, in our church, and in our community. Love calls us to welcome others as God has welcomed us, with generosity and compassion.
In the United Methodist tradition, we believe that God’s love is offered to all people, without condition. Advent love reminds us that the church is called to be a visible sign of that grace—a place where all are invited to experience God’s mercy and care.
Love That Forms Us
Love does not only comfort us; it shapes us.
When we receive God’s love, we are changed by it. We learn to see one another through the lens of grace. We are strengthened to love our neighbors, serve the vulnerable, and seek justice in the world.
Advent love prepares us not just to celebrate Christmas, but to live as disciples beyond it. It teaches us that loving God and loving neighbor are inseparable, and that faith is lived out through acts of kindness, service, and mercy.
Waiting in Love
Advent is still a season of waiting.
We are waiting for Christ to be born again in our hearts and in our world. But we do not wait empty-handed. We wait surrounded by love that has already been promised and already begun.
As we light the candle of love, we remember that God’s love is not something we earn or achieve. It is something we receive—and something we are called to share.
May this season shape us into people who reflect Christ’s love with humility and joy.
May we carry that love into every corner of our lives.
And may our waiting prepare us to recognize love when it comes among us once again.