Advent Like Mary: Week 4 Meditations on Love

I encourage you to go to your advent wreath (buy or make one).  Each year for the last 10 years or so, we light the candle each week and sing to this tune: “Light one candle for love one bright candle for love, Christ brings love to every heart, he comes, he comes.”

Week 4: Love

When I was young, it was easy for me to love and be loved because I never had to sacrifice. It wasn’t until I got married and had children that I realized the price of true love, of selfless agape love. 

Love is one of those words that has so many meanings. It’s used to communicate all sorts of things. I love Chocolate! I love my best friend! I love my husband! I Love Jesus!

The Greeks had four words to describe love which helps us understand love better. The first most superficial definition is enjoyment in something, usually an item, like, “I love your shoes! I love chocolate cake!” Etc. this love is called Storge. 

The next love is Eros, based on those lovey dovey feelings of infatuation. Eros is desire, is longing to connect with another. This love rarely if ever thinks of the other, though, and regularly assesses how pleasing the other is for themselves. Unfortunately many people assume this is the love to base relationships and marriage on, but this love is not the goal. It aids us on our journey to find the ideal love. 

The next level is Philia love. This love is based on friendship, on brotherly love. Here we begin to assess what’s best for our friend. Yes we are friends with those who we enjoy to be with, but we also show up to help them move, so the selfless element is there. 

The final and most virtuous love is agape love. This is Jesus on the cross, a love devoid of any personal gain. This love is willlikg the good of the other as a primary motivation. This love is often experienced in healthy marriages and in healthy parent to child relationships. This love is selfless, sacrificing your pleasure and good for another, regardless if they’ve earned it or deserve it. 

The love we reflect on during the last week of advent is the love God has for us (Agape love)_, and how we are called to grow in this sacrificial and divine love for the other. 

Before we love others well, It’s important to first know and accept God’s sacrificial love for us. In John’s first letter, he writes, “not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10). Regardless of how we feel about God, he loves us perfectly. He will always love us. That is the foundation and core of our identity

Mary Shows Us Love

So how do we seek true agape love in this world? Let’s see how Mary did, accepting God’s love before all else

Mary’s life shows us how to accept God and his love for us with her, “Yes.” Because she knew God was her Father and loved her, she knew he would have plans for her welfare not woe (Jer 29:11). She felt secure in his love for her, which empowered her to love others well.

You see, agape is contagious. Often it’s God who loved us first. When we embrace that love, loving others with agape is possible.

Mary was so aware of God’s love for her, that she gave her life to serve God. She gave her womb to bear the Christchild. She used all of herself to nourish and grow Christ’s presence in the world. 

We are called, like Mary, to first accept the love God has for each of us. If we cannot accept this, we cannot properly love. 

Write down 1 john chapter 4 verse 7-20. It’s all about the connection of accepting God’s love for you and how that affects how you love others. 

One main line is, “We love because God first loved us.” (1john 4:19).

This week, Mary shows us first to embrace God’s love for us and to TRUST HIM. Trust that he has plans for our welfare, not woe (Jer 29:11). Then she shows us her love for the world is BECAUSE of God’s love for her. 

She literally and physically accepted the love of God and the fruit of that love was Christ’s presence in the world. In a similar way, we are called to accept Jesus into our hearts, to take care of him there and let him grow in there through prayer, and then it’s our job to let God out into the world through our own actions. When we serve others, we are letting God’s love bless other people.

Love Like Mary

Mary gives us a recipe or tips to follow in order to have access to true peace. 

1. Let God love you, don’t fight it or convince yourself you can’t be loved.

2. Don’t try to agape love others until you let God love you.

3. Letting God’s overflow from your life, serve others well, doing good deeds in his name.

   
   

REMEMBER: 

Agape love is the best love. Strive to first accept God’s agape love for you, and let that love overflow to those around you. This is the recipe to love others well.

ACT:

Spend time in prayer accepting God’s love and thank Him for it. Then, serve someone with something selfless.

SONG:

Listen to Love Came Down.