Advent. A time to reflect, to anticipate, to hope. A time to rejoice that we are alive in Christ and to remind ourselves that we are still waiting for our full redemption. A time to give thanks that Jesus has come, and to look forward to when He will come again. A time to remember that the best is yet to come.
When you love someone, you do what it takes to be with them. You walk at their pace. You listen all the way to the end of their story. You spend time doing the things that interest them.
Of course, we know that healthy relationships involve give and take. But where there is love, the stronger person will always accommodate for the weaker. The parent for the child. The young adult for the elderly. The healthy for the sick.
That’s what God did for us. He did what it took to be with us. He accommodated our weakness by giving up His power and place to become one of us—leaving all His glory and beauty behind and taking on flesh and all that being human includes.
More so … Jesus Christ—God incarnate—accepted death on the cross to pay for our sin and redeem us from all debt. Even though He despised the shame of the cross, He did it “for the joy set before Him” (Romans 12:2). That joy was you and me! The cross is what makes a relationship between our Creator and us possible. So Jesus went there. He did what was necessary to bridge the gap and bring us to our Heavenly Father. That is love beyond measure.
This is what we celebrate on Christmas. And what we contemplate during Advent. And, as followers of Jesus, what we are called to live every day—a life of love. As we contemplate the immense love of God that brought Him so low to lift us up, let’s consider how we can love like that.
Who can we give to this Christmas? Who can we serve? Who can we include?
Of course, we will give gifts to those we love—our family and friends. That’s a big part of our celebration. But who else can we actively bless? And how are we going to do that?
Jesus walked in love every day. He spent time with people who must have frustrated Him regularly because they could not understand what He was trying to teach them. But He didn’t grow impatient and walk away. He kept answering their questions. He kept listening to their words and looking into their hearts. He kept reassuring them. He accommodated.
When the outcast leper came to Him, Jesus didn’t shrink back. He came toward the leper, and He healed him. When the woman who was considered filthy from bleeding for many years touched His garment, Jesus turned and looked at her—and that look brought healing to her soul as well as her body. When the tax collector who was despised by everyone turned his gaze away from Jesus because of shame, our Lord invited Himself to dinner at his house.
All the needy ones, those without any status, the unclean and outcast. Those were the ones Jesus came for. And if we’re honest, we all fall into one of those categories. And He is still coming for us.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:3). As members of the Kingdom of Heaven, we have all admitted that we are poor and needy. And now we are called to bring that kingdom to others, which means we will move toward the poor and needy, and not shrink away from them. We will accommodate them.
This is the love of Christ that truly honors our Lord on Christmas Day. Let’s ask Him today to show us how to walk in this love.
-by Elizabeth Griffin
Elizabeth Griffin is a senior writer at CRISTA Ministries. Her journey as a mom of a child with autism can be followed on her blog “Follow the Dots” at elizabethgriffin.com.
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