Advent 2025 :: Love // Chris Holm

We often romanticize Christmas with cozy sweaters, twinkling lights, and sentimental nostalgia. But the reality of that first Christmas was scandalous. God looked at broken humanity and became one of us, born to an unwed teenage mother in a forgotten town, arriving in a stable because there was no room anywhere else. This is love at its purest.In 1 John 4:7-12, 19, we discover what real love looks like. John repeatedly calls us "beloved" because that's our starting point. God's love makes us beloved, and from that place, we're called to love one another. Not tolerate. Not coexist. Actually love.Love comes from God, and because God is infinite, love is an inexhaustible resource. When we love others, it reveals two things: we're born of God and we actually know Him personally. If our faith doesn't produce growing love for people, we've missed the point entirely.God's love is defined by three actions: Love initiates (God came after us when we were hiding), Love does (God didn't just think warm thoughts but sent His Son), and Love sacrifices (Jesus became the atoning sacrifice for our sins).Because of the cross, God isn't disappointed in you. You stand before Him clothed in Christ's righteousness, not your own. You're not just tolerated but delighted in. Holy. Blameless. Beloved.The question is simple: will you receive that love? Stop performing. Stop pretending. Stop running. Jesus came so you could be free to live and love like He does.URF WEBSITE: ➤ http://www.urfellowship.comSOCIALS: ➤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urfellowship/➤ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/urfellowship