O Come, Let Us Adore Him
“For this is how God loved the world:
John 3:16 NLT
He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
Love Came Down
“We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
1 John 4:16 NLT
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.”
As Christians, we understand — we know — that God loves us. After all, Scripture tells us that God is love (1 John 4:16) and that love is the reason He sent His Son to save us (John 3:16). But I think sometimes we forget that those outside the faith may not understand this. I like science fiction and fantasy stories, but I am often disappointed and saddened at how God is portrayed in these stories, if He is portrayed at all. I can tell sometimes that the author, through his or her story, may be searching, trying to understand who God is, what He wants, and how we fit into His plan. Here is a recent example from a fantasy audiobook I have been listening to. It’s an interesting story, and I’m enjoying it, but the god Jovah portrayed in the story is most definitely not our loving heavenly Father. Here is part of a conversation the main character has with the oracle Josiah, a wise old man and important leader in their faith:
“‘That is a very interesting concept,’ Josiah said, ‘loving Jovah. I am not sure that I love him myself. . . . He is not an easy god to love,’ Josiah said calmly. ‘He is not very warm. He is a just god, that I do believe. He has a great deal of passion and a great deal of power, but does he love us? I have never been sure of that. . . . We know he is there, but who is he? What shape does he take? Has he ever come down among men? What is his interest in us if it comes to that? Sometimes I think we, the whole race of humans on this planet and elsewhere, were created as some vast divine experiment — that he sets up a group of us on each world and gives us different environments and watches us to see which of us adapts the best. Other times I think he has given us, all of us, a puzzle which we are somehow to solve and he waits from generation to generation, giving us a few more clues with each new birth to see how long it will take us to unravel it. And other times I think I do not understand any of it.'”
Sharon Shinn, Archangel
What a sad situation! To be fair, I don’t think the author is intending for the god Jovah in her story to represent our God. Jovah is just a fictional character in a fantasy story. But hearing this description of him made me appreciate the truth: We do not have to guess who God is or whether or not He loves us. He has come down among us to tell us what He wants and teach us how to live. And He communicates with us through His Word and through His Spirit to let us know how we fit into His plan. God loves us. He is love. He revealed His love for us by sending His Son to save us from sin and death and to restore our broken fellowship with Him. He makes it very clear that nothing can separate us from His love.
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow — not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below — indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39 NLT
Let the Little Children Come to Me
“‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.”
Mark 10:14-16 NIV
God’s plan is not a mystery to us. He made it simple enough for a child to understand. In fact, He tells us that His kingdom belongs to “such as these” — those with childlike faith, who completely and unquestioningly trust their heavenly Father to love them and do what’s best for them. He didn’t create us as some kind of experiment; he didn’t make understanding His will some kind of puzzle to solve. He spelled it out for us in His Word, and then His Word, Jesus Christ, actually became human and came down to dwell among us (John 1).
“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Listen carefully, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will call his name Immanuel (God with us).”
Isaiah 7:14 AMP
“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Luke 2:7 KJV
God sent His Son to us to save us. God sent His beloved, perfect Child to earth to suffer and die. Why? Because He loves us that much. Christ suffered, died, and then was resurrected three days later. When He did this, He took upon Himself the punishment we deserve and saved us from sin and death. He reconciled us to the Father. He gave us the gift of eternal life with Him in paradise. Not only that, He made us His brothers and sisters. God, out of His amazing love for us, sent His Child so that we could all become His children. This was His plan all along!
“You are a child of God, and you bring pleasure to God like nothing else he has ever created. The Bible says, ‘Because of his love God had already decided that through Jesus Christ he would make us his children — this was his pleasure and purpose.’
Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life
[Ephesians 1:5 TEV]”
O Come, Let Us Adore Him
“In both the Old and New Testaments, God’s purpose in revealing himself, in redeeming, and in bringing a people into existence was to create a worshiping community to be a sign of his redeeming work.”
Robert Webber in My Time with God
We don’t have a distant, cold, indifferent god. We have a loving, heavenly Father. So what should our response be? Wonder, awe, thanksgiving, love, and worship!
“At times, we come before the Lord, and it’s possible we’re not really certain of what is causing the struggles we’re living with. But then God reveals something very personal and private to us — some way He is healing or providing for us. This leads us to understand how deeply and intimately God loves us and cares for the issues closest to our hearts. He speaks directly to our most cherished hopes and answers the deepest questions of our souls through His Word in ways we’ve never imagined possible. And it causes us to worship Him.”
Charles F. Stanley, God’s Purpose for Your Life
God wants us to praise Him and bring glory to Him so that we can draw others to His love. He wants to save all of His children, and He wants us to help Him do it. We are told in Scripture that loving God and loving others are the greatest commandments (Mark 12:29-31). In fact, love is what defines us as followers of Christ (John 13:35). Why does He tell us this? Because God is love. Loving God and loving others are how we show the world what God is all about!
“Because God is love, he treasures relationships. . . . the most important lesson he wants you to learn on earth is how to love. It is in loving that we are most like him . . . . “
Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life
This week’s Scripture passages reassure us that God has a plan for all of His people and that He loves us beyond measure. He sent His Son to save us and to show us how to live. He wants us to worship Him by abiding in His love and letting His love overflow in our hearts. In doing so, we help the world to understand who He is: He is love!
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13:35 NIV
“But I know that you will welcome me into your house,
Psalm 5:7 TPT
for I am covered by your covenant of mercy and love.
So I come to your sanctuary with deepest awe to bow in worship and adore you.”
References:
- “Linus’s Christmas Monologue [Book Of Luke 2:8-20]” YouTube, uploaded by James Christian Jr., 16 October 2012, https://youtu.be/eff0cqYefYY.
- “O Come, All Ye Faithful (Official Music Video) | One Voice Children’s Choir.” YouTube, uploaded by One Voice Children’s Choir, 26 November 2021, https://youtu.be/5NetJIHwhbw.
- Shinn, Sharon. Archangel. Narrated by Tamara Marston, Audible Studios, 2010. Unabridged Audiobook.
- Sorenson, Amanda, and Stephen Sorenson, editors. My Time with God: 15 Minute Devotions for the Entire Year, New Century Version. Thomas Nelson Bibles, 1991.
- Stanley, Charles F. God’s Purpose for Your Life: 365 Devotions. Thomas Nelson, 2020.
- Warren, Rick. The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? Zondervan, 2002.
Images:
- Nativity featured image by hudsoncrafted from Pixabay
- Cross Ornament image Gavin Tyte on Unsplash
- Heart Ornament image by Alicja from Pixabay
- Christmas Dolls image by Thanasis Papazacharias from Pixabay (edited by me)
- Angel image by lilartsy from Pexels
About The Author
Christa
My vision for Wondertakings was to create a devotional blog for "nerdy" Christians like me. I do believe, as Socrates said, that wisdom begins in wonder. So I love to read or watch anything that inspires wonder and figure out what I can learn from it. I view it all through a Christian lens. I believe that God can and does speak through many sources in many ways, even if those speaking are not aware of it. I am not an expert in theology or religious studies. My goal with this blog is simply to share what I've learned as a fellow student and sinner in the Christian walk. My hope and my prayer is that by doing so I may be able to help someone else. In Deuteronomy 5:33 (NLT), we are told: "Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives. . . ." So in the words of Moses (and Spock), live long and prosper, my friends!