Love Expressed
READ
Today, we celebrate the ultimate expression of love—God giving His one and only Son.
John 3:16-17 is so familiar that we can read right past them without feeling their weight. God so loved the world. Not just the religious people. Not just the good people. Not just the people who had it all together. God loved the world—the whole messy, broken, beautiful world—so much that He gave His most precious treasure.
This is love expressed perfectly. Not in words, but in action. Not in promise, but in presence. Not from a safe distance, but up close, personal, vulnerable.
Let’s take a moment to read John 3:16-17:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
REFLECT
The Son of God didn't come with fanfare and force, demanding recognition and worship. He came as a baby, dependent and fragile, born to an unwed teenage mother in an animal shelter. He came not to condemn but to save. Not to judge but to rescue. Not to point out everything we were doing wrong, but to show us the way home.
This is the culmination of our Advent journey—recognizing that every act of love, every expression of grace, every moment of sacrificial service finds its source and pattern in this one perfect gift. God gave. And in giving His Son, He gave us everything.
As you receive this gift anew today, as you celebrate with family and friends, as you exchange presents and share meals, let this truth settle deep in your heart: you are loved beyond measure. You are seen, known, and valued by the God who created the universe. And He has expressed that love in the most tangible way possible—by becoming one of us.
Now comes the beautiful challenge: how will you carry this Love Expressed into the world around you in the coming year? How will the love you've received shape the love you give? How will the grace that saved you become the grace that flows through you?
Christmas isn't just about looking back at what God did two thousand years ago. It's about recognizing that the same love that came down then is still at work now—in you, through you, for the sake of a world that desperately needs to know they are loved.
The incarnation continues every time you choose kindness over criticism, forgiveness over bitterness, generosity over selfishness. Every time you show up for someone who's hurting, welcome someone who's lonely, or sacrifice your comfort for another's good, you're carrying forward the mission of Christmas.
God so loved the world that He gave. Now, having received that gift, we become givers too—not out of obligation, but out of overflow. We love because we've been loved. We give because we've been given to. We express love because Love Himself has been expressed to us.
As this Advent season closes and the Christmas celebration fills your day, hold this truth close: you are the recipient of perfect love, and now you're called to be its ambassador. The light that came into the world that first Christmas now shines in you. Let it shine brightly.
Merry Christmas. May you know deeply the love that has been given, and may you express it freely to everyone you meet.
RESPOND
Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.
How does celebrating the ultimate expression of God's love shape your understanding of what love really is?
What does it mean to you personally that God gave His Son not to condemn you but to save you?
As you move into the new year, how will you carry this Love Expressed into your daily life, relationships, and community?
REST
Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:
Father, today we celebrate the greatest gift ever given—Your Son, Jesus, sent not to condemn but to save. Thank You for loving the world, for loving me, so completely and sacrificially. As I receive this gift anew, fill me with Your love so that it overflows into every area of my life. Help me carry this Love Expressed into the coming year, becoming a living expression of Your grace, mercy, and transforming power wherever I go. Amen.