From the first moment we watched Elf (2003) as a family, we made it our movie of tradition, turning it on each year as we decorated our Christmas tree. We’d stop stringing lights long enough to watch – in eager anticipation – as the taxi crashed into Buddy (re: “The yellow ones don’t stop!”). And we’d laugh, again . We’d speak our favorite quotes right along with the actors as we hung our favorite ornaments. And, we’d sing-along with Jovie as she finally found her Christmas spirit. Well, okay – I was probably the only one actually singing, but my memories are wrapped up in the hope of that final scene.
In these empty-nesting years, I’m the only one decorating our tree. This year I felt a little guilty as I passed over the Elf DVD for the Hallmark Channel, but only for a minute – because I knew we’d watch Buddy at Christmas. Because it’s better to watch Elf together.
And now it’s Christmas Eve! We’ll giggle our way through a memorable movie then celebrate Christmas’ real reason-for-the-season.
While I may not know the dialogue of the newer movies I watch as I trim my tree, I do listen attentively. A few weeks ago, I heard one of the actresses speak a line that joggled a memory: “Love is a verb!” And, I smiled as I pictured my pastor of twenty years teaching that very truth, emphasizing to all of us within earshot that love is something we do. Sure, it can be wrapped up in all the warm fuzzies, but love in its purest form is action. It’s what we choose to do even when the feelings don’t line up.
So, as I listen to the famous opening lines of verse three of “O Holy Night,” I pause.
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel is Peace
And I ponder. How did Jesus teach us to love one another? With words. He told us to love one another (John 15:12). But, more than anything that He spoke, Jesus showed us how to love. With every act of kindness, healing, and encouragement, Jesus demonstrated love, sparking a thrill of hope in each person He met.
Love One Another
The context of Jesus’ birth and His years of ministry centered in the Holy Land, full of Jewish tradition and law. The Law of Moses began as the Big Ten (Exodus 20) and expanded into the 613 Mitzvot – the laws derived from the five books of Torah.1 Every God-fearing Jew not only knew these laws but did their best to follow each one.
Over the years, the Law took center-stage for many – to the point that following the letter of the Law often overshadowed the spirit of the Law. Yet, the Jewish way of life had been structured by God through the Law, so its reverence reigned supreme. It’s onto this stage that Messiah was born. It’s into this way of life that Jesus responded to the Pharisee who wanted to know what Jesus deemed the greatest commandment:
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:37-40
Jesus summarily captured the heart of the Law – love God and love others.
On the night of His arrest, Jesus gave a farewell speech to His disciples, emphasizing the kind of love He desired for all of us, saying: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34).
Using law-language, Jesus enacted a new command, a new covenant whose basis is love – agape love. Love that is steadfast and unselfish; love that is quick to forgive and slow to anger (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). Love that chooses what is good and right despite circumstances and hangs on tight no matter what feelings might suggest – because love never fails; it lasts forever; it never dies (1 Corinthians 13:8 NIV, NLT, MSG).
Too many times and in too many harmful ways, ‘love’ has been used to justify servitude and abuse – but that’s not what Jesus is advocating. Jesus’ brand of agape love is not prideful nor does it dishonor others nor delight in evil (1 Corinthians 13:4-6). The kind of love that we’re meant to have for God and others trusts and hopes, protects and perseveres (v.7). Love. is. action.
And Jesus lived out the love He called us to. He spent all His energy as He traveled from town to town healing and casting out evil. The love and compassion He had for the hurting people He met motivated Him to give all He had to them. It’s easy to read over a passage like this one and not really grasp how much Jesus gave of Himself:
“Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them.”
Matthew 4:23-24
I know I didn’t stop to consider how our Savior, who is equally divine and human, would be exhausted after long days of healing – that is until I watched the Matthew 4:24 episode of The Chosen.2 Now I have a vision of how human-Jesus could be drained from doing so much love. Eventually, His love led Him to do more than offer healing – it pushed Him to give His life for us.
So, when we hear Jesus say things like “Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:12-13), we can know that He lived out this kind of love. He showed His love for us by dying for us (Romans 5:8; 1 John 3:16).
Jesus doesn’t ask us to do anything He has not already done. In fact, His very life embodied love – so with every act He taught us how to live out the love He’s given us (1 John 4:19).
“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”
1 John 3:18
Law and Gospel
In teaching us how to love one another, Jesus ushered in a new era in which the ‘law is love.’ No more legalistic check-lists or hyper focused rule-following. Under this new covenant, followers of Jesus live out love that looks a lot less like what we see in movies – even some Hallmark ones. Rather, Jesus-love sacrifices for the good of others, putting self on the shelf. There’s nothing we owe – except love – because “whoever loves others has fulfilled the law” (Romans 8:13).
Jesus’ law is love, and His Gospel is peace. Just as His love casts out all fear and gives us the spirit of power and love, it also gives us a sound mind (1 John 4:18; 1 Timothy 1:7). His Good News pours out peace – covering fear, pain, grief, anger, offense, doubt, shame, regret, and every other thing we might be tempted to magnify over Christ.3
In that same farewell speech where Jesus exhorted us to love, He spoke of what He will give the disciples as He leaves them – peace. Not the kind of peace the world gives that only knows the calm when conflict is eradicated. No, Jesus’ peace reigns in spite of circumstances. And His peace is more than lessened anxiety; it’s shalom – a wholeness of body, mind, and spirit:
“I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.”
John 14:27 MSG
And He didn’t abandon us, for now His Spirit dwells within every single one of us who believe!
On this holy Christmas Eve, as we lean ourselves toward the Light, may we trust the love-gift we’ve been given. May we receive it and offer it to others. And may we soak-in the peace until we trust that in Christ’s presence we are made whole and holy.
May we experience a thrill of hope4 that moves us away from despair so that we can dwell more fully in Christ – the One we magnify on this Divine Night! In Him may we know nothing but peace and love. And hope.
Father God, it’s amazing to read your Word through the lens of Christ as Messiah. Promises from thousands of years ago leap off the page because we recognize Jesus in them. Laws that You laid down in order to guide your newly formed nation helped them learn your upside-down ways and love you with their whole selves. As we keep reading your Word, we’re reminded that Jesus fulfills the law. But we’re a little surprised to discover that when we love others, we also fulfill the law. We see with startling clarity that we have a place in our plan – we have purpose in the place You’ve put us. And it all starts with love. Lord Jesus, You loved us first. You lived out the kind of love that You call us to, and we stand in awe. We pray for a hunger to live more like You and less like law-followers. We pray that as we soak-in your Word that your way of living becomes ours, that your way of loving becomes our norm. Holy Spirit, more than ever we recognize our need for You. It’s only by your presence and power that resides in us that we can break free from duty-bound ideals and step into desire-based aspirations. Help us to want to live like Jesus. Teach us how to love like Jesus. And move us to lay down our lives for others in the most holy and wholesome of ways. Thank You, Jesus, for loving the world so much that You’d give your life for us. May we live out today with grateful hearts so full of love that it spills over and splashes on all those around us. In your loving name we pray, amen.
(inspired by John 1:1; Genesis 28:14; Isaiah 7:14; Exodus 20; Matthew 5:17; Romans 8:13; John 13:34; 1 John 4:19; Matthew 5;6; Philippians 2:5; Romans 12:2; John 15:13; John 3:16)
Resources: I love sharing with you the books, podcasts, articles, and anything else that has inspired, encouraged, or taught me. These are humble offerings with no expectations.
- So, wow! It really is Christmas Eve — as well as the fourth Sunday of Advent. So on a day where we are meant to focus on the love of Christ, we also celebrate His birth. We’re mashing so much into one day. And yet, how perfect it is to rejoice in His coming, full of love! Blessings, friend. May the joy of Christmas be yours as you receive Christ’s love and feel that thrill of hope only He can give. XOXO
- 1 – For a full list of the 613 laws of Judaism, see this site.
- 2 – I cannot recommend The Chosen series more, and this particular episode (the one where Jesus gets so exhausted) is but one reason why.
- 3 – Lectio 365 on 9/8/23 – Jill Weber says, “I was once mentored by a feisty Messianic Jew. ‘Whatever you magnify,’ he exhorted, ‘gets bigger in your eyes. You can magnify your problem. Or you can magnify the Lord. Which do you choose?’” Then she asks, “What problems am I facing today? Am I spending more time magnifying the problem or magnifying the Lord?” Then we pray, “God, today I choose to glorify You. I consider Your greatness. You are awesome in all of Your deeds. You are the God who keeps His covenant of love.”
- 4 – I read this in a Proverbs 31 devotion by Alicia Hunter: “That thrill of hope is the love that heals us when we are hurting. That thrill of hope is that God is with us; we are not alone. That thrill of hope is Jesus Christ. This is what Advent is about.”
- I put (another) Point of Grace song (“Not That Far from Bethlehem”) on our Advent playlist, A Thrill of Hope, because it picks up these incredible themes of love and hope and joy in a way that connects us to that night 2000 years ago: “As the Christmases go by, learn to live our days with our hearts near to the child — ever drawn, ever close to the only love that lasts. And though two thousand years have past, we’re not that far from Bethlehem – where all our hope and joy began.” (cue the weeping)
- A brand new edition of The Abiding Life Newsletter comes out the first week of January. If you’d like to, you can subscribe here. If you have any questions, email me. I’m so excited for this new way of engaging with you!
- On Wednesdays I’ve begun posting 5-7 minute teaching videos on my Facebook Author Page and Instagram (@shelleylinnjohnson).
Rhythms: As my newsletter’s title infers, we seek to develop an abiding life in this space — a place where we can get informed but also be transformed as we learn to abide in God’s presence throughout our days. I like to think that developing rhythms is what aids us in our desire to become more Christlike.
- The rhythm of stillness blessed me incredibly throughout an insanely full Advent season. I can only imagine the overwhelm, worry, and frustration I would have carried if I had not been deliberate to pause and pray, to be still, to be in God’s presence. And, I’ll tell you, it looked different every single day. It’s my prayer that as we celebrate Christmas, we will continue our practice of pausing. Let’s move through the moments like Mary, who observed and pondered and treasured everything in her heart (Luke 2:19).
- Finally, as a community, let us not neglect sharing God’s hope with others! Share your God-stories with people around you. Share this site. Share God’s Word. Shine His light of His hope into the world!
Featured Photo by lilartsy on Unsplash. “All the Bits and Pieces” photo by Yana Gorbunova on Unsplash.