(ADVENT 9) Unwrapping Christmas: Unconditional Love

This is a season in which we can reflect on the hope of the gospel - that God loved us in our state of separation from Him because of our sins; He sent His Son, who gave His life, even though we were undeserving of His grace. Romans 5 reminds us:
5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

We can look to this world for our security, but it will disappoint us. The source of true security is found in Almighty God, who loved us and loves us so greatly. When we are discouraged or feel rejected, we can turn to the One who died for us, so that we, by dying to self and receiving Him, might know the greatest love there ever was and ever will be. We can be confident in God's love, and that can make our hearts secure and give us peace in our souls. 

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Today is December 9, the 9th day of our Faith Radio Advent Guide, "25: A Christmas Advent-ure." This year's theme is Unwrapping Christmas, concentrating on gifts that have been made available to us because God sent His Son, Jesus, to the world. Today's gift is unconditional love.

God has loved us unconditionally, even in our sinful state, in a place of separation from Him. But, we can also respond in love to Him and continue to love Him, even when He does not move in our lives the way we think He should. He also provides for us the capacity to love others without condition. 1st John chapter 3 gives us some insight:
1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

The World Cup soccer tournament, bringing together teams literally from throughout the world, continues in Qatar, and even though the U.S. men's team made it into the Round of 16, it was eliminated in a 3-1 loss to the Netherlands.  The tournament is now into the Quarterfinals, the final 8, which continue through tomorrow.

In its first three games, the U.S. allowed one goal - to Wales in a penalty situation, according to a Movieguide article which featured center back Walker Zimmerman. The article noted:

When he learned the news of his starting role on the U.S. team, Zimmerman thanked God.

“A lifelong dream come true. Praising God for this opportunity. Here we gooo!” he wrote.

On a Sports Spectrum podcast recently, he said: "From a very early age, I think I had a very strong understanding of not only having morals and what it’s like to love other people, but also it created a foundation for me spiritually, where I think my faith has played a huge role in kind of my development over the years..."

The Sports Spectrum website states:

Zimmerman became a father in June 2021, which he said has given him a greater appreciation for the love his Heavenly Father has shown him.

“Really, it’s about finding the patience and learning about how sacrificial God’s love is for us through my love for my son,” Zimmerman said on the podcast. “It really kind of changes the picture for me and helps you realize actually what a great sacrifice Jesus was on the cross when you think about God giving His only Son for us.”

Walker Zimmerman is an example of recognizing the unconditional love; that love that 1st John 3 tells us has made it possible for us to be children of God.  And, his understanding of that concept has been enhanced through the birth of his own son.  Sports Spectrum noted that Walker is the son of a pastor, so I would say that he was raised with a strong Christian foundation, which contributed, as he said to knowing, "what it's like to love other people..."

When we recognize and receive the Father's love, it can give us confidence and a sense of belonging. We can know to whom we belong, and as we come to know Him and grow in His love, we can reflect that in the way we relate to the people around us. 

And, as a parent, as Walker noted, you can see a living manifestation of that unconditional love that God has for us - He has blessed us with children, the Bible says they are gifts from God, and we can develop in God's love as we love and nurture them - it's a great picture for us.

Finally, when we think about God's unconditional love, I think we have to reject the enemy's deception.  He would like to whisper in our minds that because we mess up, we miss the mark, that God won't love us anymore - he breeds insecurity in our hearts and minds about God's great love. But, we can remember that God loves us without condition and that love will not stop even when we don't obey Him.  Throughout the Old Testament, even though Israel was chided for their rebellion, God didn't stop loving them - in fact, He kept telling them that the Messiah was coming to bring reconciliation. We can hold on to God's love even when we are discouraged.