The Gift of God’s Love

Merry Christmas!

Ephesians 3:14–21 NKJV

14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

I want to talk to you today about the greatest gift ever given, the gift of God’s love.

It’s Christmastime and that inevitably means the exchanging of gifts. How blessed do you feel when someone thinks of you and gives you a gift which is thoughtful, meaningful, and valuable? Isn’t that a wonderful thing?

As a parent, I’ve learned that the gifts that I give to my children (especially when they were small) don’t often last. Even if they are costly to me these things perish.

I’ve also discovered that the joy surrounding Christmas and the holiday season—the festivities and time off of work and time with loved ones—doesn’t last. It soon gives way to “real life” where we have to get back to work and the grind and things go from festive to “bah humbug.”

But I want to talk to you about a gift that never expires or breaks, a gift that keeps on giving and lasts through eternity.

God’s gifts are good and perfect and this is especially true of the gift of His love (cf. James 1:17).

Created to Love and to Be Loved

You could say that we were created for love. What is interesting is that in many of the movies and stories of this season we see characters that are full of greed and selfishness. Possibly we even see these attitudes played out in people around us.

Do you think that this is because these attitudes are the exact opposite of the self-giving love of God? Many of these stories end with the person experiencing a change of heart and becoming more gracious and loving.

I think that possibly the greatest tragedy of this season is that our “love” and affection is often turned towards things instead of towards God.

Things fall apart which is part of what makes our disordered desires so crazy.

This is why we need to know how amazing the gift of God’s love truly is.

And when we really understand the extreme cost of this gift we’ll discover how this gift changes our lives.

The Love of God

Christmas is about God’s love. He came for us because of love.

Three characteristics about the love of God:

The Love of God Results in an Invaluable Gift

John 3:16 NKJV

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Because God’s love for us, He gave Himself to us.

Romans 5:6–11 NKJV

6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

The price of this gift was the life and blood of Jesus. Not only did God give us His best, He did it when we didn’t deserve it.

How could He love us this way? How could He do that even when we were His enemies? Because God is love…it’s His nature (1 John 4:16).

And because of that love, He gave us a great gift.

Illustration: The story is told that one day a beggar by the roadside asked for alms from Alexander the Great as he passed by. The man was poor and wretched and had no claim upon the ruler, no right even to lift a solicitous hand. Yet the Emperor threw him several gold coins. A courtier was astonished at his generosity and commented, “Sir, copper coins would adequately meet a beggar’s need. Why give him gold?” Alexander responded in royal fashion, “Copper coins would suit the beggar’s need, but gold coins suit Alexander’s giving.”

If He was simply our Creator or some type of Cosmic Inventor, He definitely would not have to be emotionally invested much less love us. But God is our Heavenly Father. He loves us. He loves you.

Merry Christmas!

The Love of God Casts Out Fear

1 John 4:18 NLT

Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.

One of the most wonderful blessings that the love of God brings into our lives is it takes away all fear of punishment. It removes the fear of failure and of guilt and shame.

God’s love replaces those things with acceptance and hope in salvation.

Let the love of God remove your fear. He has decided to forgive you. He has decided that you are worth it (that you are worthy of His love).

Illustration: Story of wealthy man who passed. He was an art connoisseur. He had a son who he loved and who would have been his only heir except he had passed when he was young. The man’s estate went to auction, over 1000 came. The first item up was a portrait painted by his son. As the auction started people sat in silence. After a long while and older gentleman sheepishly raised his hand and put in a bid for a few dollars. With no other offers, the gavel swung down and the picture was sold. People were excited and ready for the “real” action to begin. But as soon as that happened a man came up to the auctioneer and whispered in his ear. The auctioneer slammed the gavel down and concluded the auction. There was an unknown stipulation to the auction. In the will of the man, the instructions specifically said to offer for sale the painting drawn by his son first, and that whoever gets the painting of his son gets the whole art collection. The man had decided well in advance that whoever loved his son and accepted him could not only have his son’s work, but all the other benefits that belonged to the father. —Tony Evans, Tony Evans’ Book of Illustrations, Kindle ed. (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2009), Location 474. 

When you receive the gift of God’s love in His only begotten Son, you get so much more. You get freedom from fear and judgment. You get wholeness and peace and salvation. You get life.

The gift of God’s love casts out all fear of separation and draws you near into an intimate relationship as a part of His family.

The Love of God Deserves a Response

1 John 4:12–16 NKJV

12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

When we receive God’s love, it changes us and we are moved by it.

You can’t receive the love of God and do nothing.

You get caught up in the love of God. It pulls you along and in it you are changed.

When you receive the love of God you need to walk in it. Love God (keeping His commandments always - John 14.21) and love others (Matthew 19:19).

Illustration: In the 1980s and 1990s there was a documented problem with the way orphanages functioned in Romania. In fact, it was found that the children were neglected, untouched, and unloved. This resulted in their brains not developing like normal children.

There is power in love. It causes us to grow and blossom and flourish.

This gift of God’s love enables us to live different and calls us to the same love. We can not be passive about it. We can not remain untouched by it.

Conclusion

Let us celebrate the incredible gift that God’s love is for us. Let us recognize that this gift was costly and invaluable because God created you and loved you and thought you worthy of saving.

This love drives out fear and shame and brings us into salvation and wholeness. This gift of love leads to our acceptance by God and redemption into His family.

Take time today to respond to God’s love. Recognize it. Receive it.

When you open this eternal gift your heart will find its true home free from fear and you will be found in friendship with God.