Intro

Over the past three weeks, we have considered the words, HOPE, PEACE, and JOY.  These are great words and we wish we had more of what they represent in our personal lives and in the world.  But we also have discovered that in order to truly have HOPE, PEACE and JOY, we have to learn to not depend on circumstances that we can’t control.  HOPE, PEACE and JOY  are actually things that we must choose.  We conclude our four week series looking at words associated with the Christian tradition of Advent with LOVE.

Examples

It is not an exaggeration to say that LOVE is what everyone is looking for in this world - at least emotionally.  We want to be seen, known, accepted, and when necessary, comforted.  Of course, there are many kinds of LOVE and we can get confused about what LOVE is!

Preference (I love pizza.  I love flowers. I love jazz.)

Allegiance (I love the USA.  I love the Red Wings.)

Sensory (I love the wind.  I love my weighted blanket.)

Personal (I love my parents.  I love my grandma.)

Romantic (I love her.  I love him.  I love you.)

My Thoughts

How to find LOVE? Here are a couple of things about the LOVE that we are all looking for that can help.

First, the LOVE that we are looking for comes for us, we don’t have to go after it!  In the Christian tradition, this is the story of God sending Baby Jesus - Love comes looking for us! Through a mental health lens, this is a LOVE that moves toward pain and suffering without judgment or condemnation.  It sits with us in our pain and promises to be with us through it all.  This can be the pain of circumstances or the pain of our own choices gone wrong.

Second, the LOVE we are looking for is sacrificial.  It prioritizes the other over itself. Again, borrowing from the Christian tradition, this is Jesus leaving heaven to come to earth in the form of a baby in order to “LOVE” his people.  True love has a cost.

Finally, romantic love is powerful but not necessarily a guide to true love - as weird as that sounds.  True LOVE is a decision to prioritize the other over oneself.  Be careful about love that serves you emotionally but that is not sustainable without that emotion.

How can we find the LOVE that fills us? First, be honest about the people in our lives.  Who comes for me?  Who sacrifices for me? Who am I keeping in my life because I “love” them, but they don’t really love me?  Second, LOVE others.  We find LOVE when we are loving toward others.  When we prioritize others over ourselves, we enter into something bigger than any given situation and become a part of a process of LOVE that truly can change the world. At least the little bit of the world that we can influence

Conclusion

Merry Christmas!  May you find the HOPE, PEACE, JOY and LOVE that the season promises.

Application:

• One of the simplest ways to LOVE others is to tell them that you love them!  Are there people in your life that you love but you haven’t told them lately: “I love you.”  This is strangely awkward but powerful.

• How are you loving others in your life sacrificially?  Is there time you could spend? Or attention? Or words?

• Who are the models of LOVE in your life?  Consider their lives and see what you can learn from them.

• Continuing from last week, beauty not only brings us JOY but can also make us feel LOVED.  Continue to practice spending time with beauty in nature, music, art, and so on.