Tag Archives: Love in Action

The Advent of Love

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(This article is taken from my 2020 five-part series on Advent.)

What is love? 

We would likely define this word by mentioning many aspects, perhaps things like having close bonds with others, giving and receiving affection, being connected in a family, experiencing loyalty and faithfulness, hearing or speaking words of affirmation, giving and receiving gifts, serving others, or being the recipients of acts of kindness.  Yet although we might have all these varied ideas in mind, there is a common thread—love is something demonstrated in deeds.  Love is action.

Since before time began, love was active and awaiting us, and then love came near.  Love took action.  But where did love come from, and why did it come near?

Love came near because God came near.  God is the source of love.  He is love.  He has given the very essence of Himself in an offering to us.  This offering is actually what we are focusing on right now during this season of Advent—He gave His one and only son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life, and He did this because He loved the world (see John 3:16).

Since before time began, God had a plan to gift us with His love.  And when the time was just right, the gift arrived: Jesus was born to be the Savior of the world to show us the love of God the Father.  Jesus was a representation of the love and an act of that love.  He gave up the position of honor He held as King of kings and humbled Himself to walk as a man.  He gave up the riches of the entire universe to be laid in a manger and give everything to us.  He gave up the comforts of having and doing anything He pleased, going anywhere He wanted at any time, to come to this earth and experience the life we experience, walking in obedience to God’s will and God’s timing.  This is the gift of love we celebrate at Christmas.

But the love did not stop there.  Jesus did not remain a baby in the manger.  He grew into a man who continued to act in love.  He travelled and spoke to thousands, sharing with them about the forgiveness of sin and the gift of eternal life.  He healed and fed.  Taught and visited.  Comforted the grieving and raised the dead.  All this, He gave.  And He gave even more, things that we find difficult to give: He loved His enemies.  He prayed for those who despitefully used and persecuted Him.  He gave His time and energy and service to those who gave nothing back.  He loved the unlovely that others avoided and scorned.  He sacrificed His very life for us.  All so that we could know His love and know it forever.

This is how love comes.  God took action.  He has loved us with an everlasting love and drawn us with loving kindness.  He has given us the gifts of His Son, His Word, His promises, His salvation, and His very presence.  Do we see it?  Do we recognize it?  Have we responded to it?  Have we given Him our hearts and our love in return? Has there been an advent of love from us?

You can receive His gift today and return the gift of your heart to Him. This is how love comes.

©Text and photo Francee Strain, December 12, 2020. Revised December 17, 2021.

Comfort Zone

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I’ve cried so many tears this month they have likely comprised a measurable amount. There is so much pain and sorrow in my life, my family’s life, my friends’ lives, and the world around us.  I find I am in a zone where I need some comfort.

What do we consider to be comforting within our zones?  Our homes?  Being surrounded by family?  Having a cuddly blanket?  Experiencing some peace and quiet?  Eating chocolate?  These might be our default settings for times of difficulty, but what about the comfort zones we erect during days that are not filled with grief—a comfy couch, our favorite shows, a good book, good friends, our hobbies?  Whatever the comforts are, and in whatever seasons of life we seek them, there is a commonality—they are mostly all about ourselves.  But God did not design us to remain focused on ourselves. We are supposed to live to bring Him glory through our love and service to Him and others. 

It can be a scary prospect, or an inconvenient one, to step outside our comfort zones, but the truth of the matter is, life is not designed to be stationary.  We are to move forward in the purpose for which God created us.1  We are to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.2 And in order to do that, we have to enter their zones.  We have to be aware of others and be involved with them.  

There are an untold number of people who need us to enter their zones and bring them comfort.  How do we accomplish this? If we know the God of all comfort, then we are capable of bringing comfort to others.  He will comfort us in all our difficult times, and later, we will be able to use that to comfort others.  God can bring comfort to our minds, knowing we will spend eternity with Him after these difficult days are over.  He can bring comfort to our hearts, knowing He is sovereign.  In the midst of the bewilderment and grief, the comfort of His presence can be known, but how many people remain unaware of this fact?  Unless we move out of our comfort zones, they may never know.

We have the good news of the gospel, and people could really use some good news right now.  But in order to deliver the news, we need to shift the focus from ourselves onto others.  In order to love God and love others, we have to take action.  We have to move past ourselves, let go of our selfishness, forego our self-interest, shift our self-focus, and surrender our self-preservation. Our purpose here is not to “get all we can and can all we get,” making ourselves rich, pretty, and famous.  God placed us here to serve Him and serve others.  Our treasures are not to be in earthly things but in things of eternal purpose.

At times, we will need to linger in our comfort zones while God is ministering to our hurts and our needs, equipping and preparing us for what’s next, but then comes the time to step out, to cross the line and enter the zones of others—showing them the way of hope and peace, showing them Christ, showing them the God of all comfort.

Let all that you do be done with love. 3

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.  For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.5

NOTES

1 See Philippians 3:12.  

2 See Romans 12:15.

3 1 Corinthians 16:14

4 2 Corinthians 2:14–15

5 2 Corinthians 1:3–4

Scriptures taken from the New King James Version of the Holy Bible, ©1982 by Thomas Nelson.

©Text and photo Francee Strain, August 29, 2021

The Advent of Love

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What is love? 

We would likely define this word by mentioning many aspects, perhaps things like having close bonds with others, giving and receiving affection, being connected in a family, experiencing loyalty and faithfulness, hearing or speaking words of affirmation, giving and receiving gifts, serving others, or being the recipients of acts of kindness.  Yet although we might have all these varied ideas in mind, there is a common thread—love is something demonstrated in deeds.  Love is action.

Since before time began, love was active and awaiting us, and then love came near.  Love took action.  But where did love come from, and why did it come near?

Love came near because God came near.  God is the source of love.  He is love.  He has given the very essence of Himself in an offering to us.  This offering is actually what we are focusing on right now during this season of advent—He gave His one and only son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life, and He did this because He loved the world (see John 3:16).

Since before time began, God had a plan to gift us with His love.  And when the time was just right, the gift arrived: Jesus was born to be the Savior of the world to show us the love of God the Father.  Jesus was a representation of the love and an act of that love.  He gave up the position of honor He held as King of kings and humbled Himself to walk as a man.  He gave up the riches of the entire universe to be laid in a manger and give everything to us.  He gave up the comforts of having and doing anything He pleased, going anywhere He wanted at any time, to come to this earth and experience the life we experience, walking in obedience to God’s will and God’s timing.  This is the gift of love we celebrate at Christmas.

But the love did not stop there.  Jesus did not remain a baby in the manger.  He grew into a man who continued to act in love.  He travelled and spoke to thousands, sharing with them about the forgiveness of sin and the gift of eternal life.  He healed and fed.  Taught and visited.  Comforted the grieving and raised the dead.  All this, He gave.  And He gave even more, things that we find difficult to give: He loved His enemies.  He prayed for those who despitefully used and persecuted Him.  He gave His time and energy and service to those who gave nothing back.  He loved the unlovely that others avoided and scorned.  He sacrificed His very life for us.  All so that we could know His love and know it forever.

This is how love comes.  God took action.  He has loved us with an everlasting love and drawn us with loving kindness.  He has given us the gifts of His Son, His Word, His promises, His salvation, and His very presence.  Do we see it?  Do we recognize it?  Have we responded to it?  Have we given Him our hearts and our love in return? Has there been an advent of love from us?

You can receive His gift today and return the gift of your heart to Him. This is how love comes.

©Text and photo Francee Strain, December 12, 2020