ADVENT LOVE: FROM DIFFERENT TO DIVINE

LOVE MAKES THE DIFFERENCE IN OUR PERSPECTIVE
(Friday, December 23rd)

Different: partly or totally unlike in nature, form, or quality; dissimilar; not the same; unusual, special

Divine: of, relating to, or proceeding directly from God; supremely good 

Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
    his understanding is unsearchable.
(Isaiah 40:28)

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.
(Isaiah 55:8-9)

This week, our family Christmas gathering was postponed (for the third year) when our grandsons picked up the influenza virus. Life is filled with these disappointments. A gift doesn’t arrive on time. A winter storm impacts our travel plans. A power outage upsets our baking process. An expected guest has to cancel. We lament a bit, make new arrangements, and eventually regroup and recover.

But then there are those life-changing moments of anxiety and grief, when life is suddenly disrupted or uprooted. Tests reveal a serious health concern. The position has been filled. A loved one shares the news we had been dreading. An investment goes awry. We are heartbroken and distraught, knowing that life will never be the same.

We initially wonder, What will I do now? Where do I go from here? Will I be able to handle this?

We may then begin asking, Why did this happen to me? Why now? Why can’t life be easier? Will I ever get a break?

And finally, we may deeply question…
Where is God in all of this?

Advent Love is the way Jesus came to reveal God in all of this.

The world seems to teach us that for life to be good, it has to be a certain way – filled with successes, achievements, abundances, joyful days, and loving relationships – until the very end. And there are those whose faith in God is contingent on life going that certain way. When they experience hardship, they stop believing in God “who would allow this to happen.” But perhaps one of the most loving things God has done was to create and set this world in motion, allowing life to play out naturally, allowing us to live freely.

God might not intervene by changing circumstances or preventing hardships, but God can and does help us by changing our perspective, by revealing new ways of living and being in this (imperfect) world. Life becomes more bearable and beautiful when we understand that we do not and cannot know everything. Our perspective deepens when we realize that we cannot see the future, we cannot comprehend the bigger picture, we cannot know the size of God’s perfect, unfathomable love.

What we can know is that in everything, God will work to bring about good. Advent Love is seeing God in Christ endure all of human life, suffering, and death, then overcome it all with the incredible joy of resurrection. Advent Love is knowing that even in our darkest days, a brighter day has been promised. Advent Love is the kind grace that tells us that there is always something more, something significant, something sacred beyond our ordinary and sometimes terrible days.

Advent Love gives us the capacity to look beyond the different to discover the divine.

I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may perceive what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. (Ephesians 1:16-19 NRSVUE)

Definitions found at https://www.merriam-webster.com/
Bible passages are the NRSVUE version, taken from https://www.biblegateway.com/
Photo by Karen