LOVE: PART I

Here we find ourselves, already at the fourth week of Advent! If you’re like me this is when all of those last minute preparations begin to pile up and overwhelm. This is where reflecting on Advent becomes so important & precious to me because I fight the temptation to focus on all of the trappings of the holiday, crossing things off of my to-do list, while also adding more things to it, but not necessarily enjoying or soaking in the beauty of this time of year. 

In all of the hustle and bustle of the Christmas Season, have you ever stopped to ask yourself, why? Because, let’s be honest, although we love the Christmas season, sometimes we also dread all that comes with it.  There’s a lot of pressure and expectations that we put into celebrating the birth of a baby born over 2,000 years ago! Sometimes I feel like we just go through the motions of the holidays without really delving into the WHY of it.

Why do we feel it necessary to dig deep to find the spirit of Christmas; to show more kindness, compassion, and generosity during this time of year?  Why do we work on loving harder, deeper and better? What is it in our human makeup that motivates the entire world to spread love more lavishly now than any other day on the calendar?

I think it’s an appropriate question, especially in the midst of so much heartache and uncertainty that has defined 2020.  

LOVE IS WHAT MOTIVATES US. 

Love is what motivates us to go the extra mile; love is what prompts us to put forth every ounce of energy to prepare for the holidays, spend money on giving good gifts, and invest more time with family and friends. Love is a great motivator!

Just as we might question what motivates us to show more love at Christmas, I think that we should also pause and ponder what it was that motivated all of those who took part in the very first Advent.  What drove a young man to remain faithful to a seemingly unfaithful wife?  What moved a young girl to carry the burden of an unexpected child who would hold the whole world in His tiny hands?  What prompted angels to gather and sing in joyous celebration?  What inspired a group of shepherds to immediately find the newborn child and then joyfully spread the story of His miraculous birth? What led three foreign kings to travel a great distance, following a star, to bring a small child precious gifts? What led God to send His Son down to earth as a baby, with the sole purpose of being the Savior?

LOVE IS WHAT MOTIVATED THEM.

Love is what motivated Joseph:

Joseph had great love for Mary. It was his love for the young woman that kept him from seeking vengeance or retribution for what seemed to be a great offense towards him. “Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.” (Matthew 1:18).  He had to have felt devastated and humiliated at the apparent unfaithfulness of his betrothed; she was pregnant with a child that wasn’t his. He could have reacted in anger and had her stoned, or in jealousy and brought shame to Mary by publicly divorcing her.  

But Joseph was a just and righteous man, and his love for his fiance motivated him to defend her physical safety as well as her virtue. He made the decision to make as little of a fuss as possible and do what he could to protect his fiance’s reputation. 

“But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream.” (Matthew 1:20a). You can just imagine this young man as he deliberated throughout the night on this difficult situation, agonizing over how he should handle not just his own hurt and betrayal, but also how he would proceed with Mary. He carefully considered what was best for Mary, not just what would soothe his bruised ego or salvage his own reputation. He was selfless in determining what steps to take; he was thoughtful, not reactive or impulsive. He didn’t allow his emotions to control his response. And, suddenly, in the midst of weighing his options, God sends an angel with a choice that Joseph hadn’t considered…to go ahead and take Mary as his wife. “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife.” (Matthew 1:20) 

Joseph woke up from this dream, the weight of the world removed from his heart, the hurt gone and replaced with determination to do what it was the Lord commanded of him, “Then Joseph being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife.” (Matthew 1:24)

This is what love looks like: responding with wisdom and grace, tempering justice with mercy, putting the welfare of others above our own need for righteous vindication. Above all, love is best shown by obeying what God is asking of us, no matter how difficult or uncomfortable.  

Love is what motivated Mary:

We see in Mary the epitome of a mother’s love for her child. She willingly faced the embarrassing social stigma of an unplanned pregnancy. She dealt with the physical hardship and discomfort of travel close to her due date. And she endured the humble circumstances of giving birth all alone in a stable. She did all of it with humility and love. She loved this child from the moment she learned of His conception.  She recognized the enormity of the responsibility before her, and willingly and obediently accepted what God asked of her.  

She held everything that happened surrounding the birth of her child close to her heart. She pondered what it all meant, not just in the temporal, right here and right now sense, but in the grander scheme of things. The wonder she must have felt as she saw the plans of God unfolding in the tiny little hands of her baby boy.  

Mary made none of these events about herself; she allowed God to order her steps, her life, her own plans for the future and she became a vessel of His great and precious promise to all of mankind to never leave or forsake us. And in quietness and humility she considered all of these events…the angelic messenger, the lowly birth in a stable, the visit from the shepherds and their story of a choir of angels singing about her child. “But Mary kept those things and pondered them in her heart.”  No mother forgets the details of her child’s birth; but Mary especially would hold every moment close to her heart, treasured and pondered on as the days and months and years unfolded and God’s plan was revealed. A plan that would pierce through her very soul (read Luke 2:25-35).

This is what love looks like: A quiet pondering in your heart. Love doesn’t always have fancy words or showy evidence; it isn’t always loud and ostentatious, but is sometimes just a holding of those things close to your heart, a reflecting of what it all means. Love looks like a mother holding her newborn son close to her heart, knowing that someday her heart would break.

To Be Continued…