By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
Today is the fourth and final Sunday of Advent, a four-week tradition that marks the coming of Christ. We have looked at the themes of Hope, Peace, and Joy. This week’s celebration focuses on Love.
The Bible says much about love.
It is the greatest.
Without it we are mere noise-makers.
It’s what we are to give those who hate us.
It should temper everything we say.
It could cost us our life.
It cost Jesus His.
God loved the world so much that He gave His only son (John 3:16).
That’s a lot of love. It’s a love we can’t fully comprehend because we are flesh and blood mortals with limited mental capacity and vision. We cannot fathom how deep and wide the love of God is.
I like the clarity of The Message paraphrase when quoting the familiar reference of John 3:16-18:
This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son.
And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him,
anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble
of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how
bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts
in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under
the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure
to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.
Our celebration of Christ’s birth is my favorite holiday because it flaunts the defeat of our enemy by the small, pudgy fist of a newborn. Love at its most vulnerable point could not be bested by Satan.
This fact reminds me that in spite of what the enemy or circumstances hurl at my life, God’s love is still in control.
~
Love at its most vulnerable Share on X
Georgia took a slow swallow, watching him over the rim of her cup.
Now or never, cowboy. “Georgia, may I speak candidly?” Dave said.
She dipped her head. “I thought you always did.”
Just take me now, Lord, before I bungle the whole thing.
When nothing happened, Dave took a deep breath. “I enjoy spending time with you, and I’d like to continue doing so. Aside from Sunday at church. How about you?”
Her eyes said little. Guarded, holding him at bay, unlike her demeanor at Stan’s, in the meadow, and in her backyard. But the sigh that floated from her parted lips raised his hopes.
“I’d like that.”
Forgiven.
She stretched her hand out, palm up.
He enclosed it in his. “Good.” If he wasn’t careful, he’d melt down right there on her kitchen floor.
“My sudden exit from our day at the ranch was not entirely your fault. Your words caught me off guard, that’s all.” She looked at their hands. “Things seem to be moving so quickly.”
Her cheeks reddened and the blush endeared her to him. He squeezed her fingers. “I agree with you, they are. But I don’t want to change that. I want to get to know you even more. Share the bits and pieces of my life with you and hear about yours.”
Her shy smile nearly did him in. He wasn’t this vulnerable when he was a seventeen-year-old high school junior with acne.
She slipped her hand from beneath his. “On one condition.”
His throat tightened.
“That we pray when we get together. That we keep the Lord front and center. Because I really don’t have time in my life for anything less.”
If he kissed her right there at the kitchen table, she might change her mind and kick him out. He settled for retrieving her hand. “You got it.” ~A Mistletoe Christmas from “A Country Christmas Collection”
Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.
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(c) 2024 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.
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