Love at Christmas

For this last Advent post I've asked Erica to share from some of the content the women's Bible study has been looking at through this season as they've explored the themes of Advent.

This past Sunday we celebrated the fourth and final week of advent, which was all about Love.

If you are part of the women’s bible study this won’t be new to you, but The Bible Project has put together a four-part advent series. You can find the link to the video, some devotional questions, and options for further study below.

In this week’s study it talked about Love as more than just a feeling but something that we can show through action. One that is modeled by Jesus’ life. It is a love that is patient, kind, humble and selfless. And like they say in the video, it is not a kind of love that just happens to us but it is a choice to act in ways that offer well-being to others.

That can be easy at times and with certain people but can also be incredible difficult at other times and with different people. So like with so many things we need God’s help. We can look to Jesus example, we can ask God to put people in our lives to love, we can ask him to help guide us to show selfless love to those who it may be difficult for us.

What was interesting as I dug through this study, was getting a broader understanding of what love was like, how this Agape love was bigger than how I saw love to be like, and how with that I can show love to everyone including my “enemy” by following in Jesus’ example.

I encourage you to take a look at the video and go through some of the discussion questions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slyevQ1LW7A

Questions:

1. When Jesus arrived, God’s love became an embodied reality in our world. The God of the Bible doesn’t merely express love through Jesus; he is love. As a triune God—Father, Son, and Spirit—he always has been and forever will be an others-centered, self-giving, communal being who thinks, feels, and acts with pure love. Read 1 John 4:16 and John 15:9-13, taking note of the triune relationship and the theme of living and abiding. What do you observe?

2. Read Mark 12:29-31 and take note of how Jesus quotes the Hebrew Bible (Deut. 6:4-6; Lev. 19:34). How does loving God relate to loving other people?

3. The Hebrew Bible records the history of the ancient Israelites as they struggle to follow the commandment to love God and others. If Israel had difficulty with this, how can we hope to do any better? Jesus helps us when he adds a new commandment to empower the greatest commandment. Compare John 13:34 with Mark 12:29-31. What is the difference between these two commands? How does Jesus enable us to follow the greatest commandment?

4. Agape love is not primarily a feeling that happens to people. This kind of love is a choice to act in ways that offer well-being to others. Using Paul’s definition of love from 1 Corinthians 13:1-7, consider how Jesus loves us. How is Jesus patient, kind, humble, and selfless toward us? How does this kind of love challenge more popular modern notions?

5. Jesus says that the ultimate standard of authentic love is how well you treat the person you can’t stand—your enemy. Let that settle in as you read Luke 6:27-36. Notice how God shows kindness to ungrateful, dishonest, and violent people. What does this say about God’s character? Consider how verse 36 describes God. How do you think love and mercy relate to one another?

Further Study:

Hear the Podcast Episode or Series: Love Is Not a Black Hole: https://bibleproject.com/podcast/love-not-black-hole/

Watch the Video: Loyal Love: https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/loyal-love/