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Week 4: Advent Family Devotional – Love

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Welcome to the fourth week of our Advent family devotional on love. You can download the print version here or continue reading below.

Christmas tablescape love

Advent Family Devotional: Week 4 – Love

(Light the first and second purple candles, the rose-colored candle, and then the final purple candle.)

Ask: What are some things you love? Why do you love them?

Should the things or people you love and care about be afraid of you? Why or Why not?

Read 1 John 4:18

Ask: If we are believers, should we fear God? Why or Why not? (no because God loves us)

Before Jesus was born, every time God wanted to talk to his people he had to announce, “fear not!”
Think about when God wanted to tell Mary that she would give birth to Jesus. God sent an angel to deliver the message and the first thing the angel said was “Fear not!”

Or when the angels appeared to the shepherds in the field to tell them that the Messiah had been born, they had to first declare “Fear not!” People have always felt a natural fear towards God.

John just told us in this verse that a believer doesn’t need to fear God because the relationship between them and God is based on love and what Jesus did on the cross. There should be no dread or fear of God’s wrath or anger in the life of a believer.

Sometimes we’re afraid of people or monsters because we’re afraid of what they might do to us. We’re afraid a monster will attack us or that a bad guy will hurt us. But someone who truly loves us would never try to hurt us or attack us or make us scared of them. Love is not based on fear.

This means that God would not try to “scare” us into doing the right thing or following Him. He wants us to be faithful to Him because we want to be and because we love Him, too!

In Romans 8:15, Paul tells us that we did not receive faith so we could “fall back into fear” of God, but instead we have been adopted as sons and daughters.

Jesus came to show us how much God loves us! There’s nothing scary about a baby! Jesus came so that he wouldn’t have to announce, “fear not” every time God wanted to communicate with us.

Instead, Jesus could talk to his beloved creation face to face and teach them, heal them and lead them without everyone being afraid.

May we remember this Christmas that God truly loves us and that we don’t need to fear Him. Charles Spurgeon once said this about our relationship with God, “You stand before God as if you were Christ because Christ stood before God as if he were you.”

Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection God treats believers as holy and blameless and loves us as a son or daughter!

Pray together as a family and thank God that we are now considered adopted son’s and daughter’s and don’t have to be afraid.

This is a series of posts. You can access the rest below:

Celebrating Advent + DIY Advent Wreath
Advent Week 1 Hope: Family Devotional
Week 2: Advent Family Devotional
Week 3: Advent Family Devotional – Joy
Christmas Day Advent Devotional – Christ Candle

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