TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: John 3: 16-17

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.

TODAY’S MESSAGE

As we light the fourth candle of Advent — the candle of LOVE — we can instantly see that the candles become a crown for the Prince of Peace.

The fourth Sunday of Advent is the Sunday of love, and there is no greater love than that of God for us. I doubt there is a parent among us who would be willing to sacrifice their child to save mankind, that is how strong God’s love is.

And that’s how strong Mary’s love was for God. She was a girl of 14 or 15, by most accounts, and yet she willingly said “yes” when God asked of her something that would eventually tear her heart out. He asked her to help bring the Saviour into the world, to be the means by which He was able to take human form.

If Jesus were to float above the cross at Calvary, there wold be no salvation for us. He needed to be dying on the cross, His blood flowing until He gave up His earthly body. And it was Mary who made that possible for all of us. Is it any wonder that to this day we revere her as the greatest human being to have ever lived?

It is impossible t even imagine the torment Mary felt as she watched her son die a hideous death, and yet she knew on the first Christmas Eve that the baby in manger would someday fulfill His destiny in this way.

Remember and reflect upon that love as you light the candle.