Sunday’s Blessing – 12/21/2025 – 4th Sunday of Advent – Love

Sunday’s Blessing – 12/21/2025 – 4th Sunday of Advent – Love

The past few weeks I’ve heard several different people comment about their pastors quoting pop lyrics in their sermons. Strangely enough, some of the most accurate words come from a Beatles song called, All You Need is Love. The strongest emotion humans can experience is love. This theme is at the very heart of the celebration of Advent.

The fourth and final Sunday of Advent focuses on Love. Scripture declares that God is Love! An Amy Grant song phrased the meaning of Advent this way: “Love has come For the world to know As the wisemen knew Such a long time ago. And I believe that the angels sang That hope had begun When the God of Glory Who is full of mercy Sent His Son.” Advent begins with the focus of Hope, followed by Peace and Joy. The full experience of embracing Christ, the Messiah, is to know Love. Paul put it this way saying, “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” (1 Corinthians 13:7-8a ESV)

I’m so glad I finally learned the difference between Christmas and Advent. After seeing the blazing rhetoric and vitriolic criticism from those claiming to know Christ, toward anyone who “took Christ out of Christmas” totally missed the powerful truth they have available to them. Instead of going to war over the commercially motivated celebration of Christmas (the holiday was created for commercial purposes) they have the ancient celebration of Advent, purely centered on the truth of the birth of our Messiah, Jesus, born of a virgin, to save the world from sin. 

Christmas (the commercial celebration) is carnal (meaning of the flesh) but is not sinful or evil. It’s like going to Disney World. There is nothing spiritual about it, but it is not sin. But Advent is purely spiritual. Instead of burning so much energy trying to spiritualize a secular event (Christmas) let’s spend our time exposing others to the celebration of Advent. It is quite possible that by introducing others to the source of true Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love, we can bring others back to the Father by allowing them to get to know His Son!

Today’s Blessing:

May you come face to face with the Love of God, embodied the Baby of Bethlehem

So you can immerse your hurts and pains in the healing balm of Christ

Restoring you in every way back to the way the Creator intended

And be the Salt and Light to your world and beyond

May the reality of Advent fill you with Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love

So you may keep your eyes and heart heavenward

Following the lighted path provided by the Comforter

To lead you into all that the Creator has planned for you