Devotionals for the Heart: God's Love

When God Entered the World
A devotional by Kay Pflueger

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 

–1 John 4:9-11 (ESV)

Adam and Eve had everything they wanted or needed in the Garden of Eden; that is until they broke God’s heart in disobedience. He loved them fiercely and was saddened by their actions. The world that should have been a perfect place of love and peace became dark with sin and hatred. Generations of God’s people longed for salvation and prayed to Him for peace and a restoration of His kingdom on earth.

When God deemed it to be the perfect time, He sent an angel to Mary to tell her that He had chosen her among all women to bear His son. That child to be born would bring God’s love back into the world. As we read in 1 John 4:9 (ESV): “the love of God was made manifest among us.” He loved us so much that He chose to become like us and to walk the earth among us. Mary knew in her heart that the child she would deliver was the Messiah—the one sent to save the world. In Luke 1:48-49 (ESV), she praised God saying: “For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.”

The baby born to Mary in that stable in Bethlehem is the focus of our Christmas celebrations, but the true revelation of God’s love for us did not happen that night but on the cross at Calvary. Before his sacrifice for our sins (dying on the cross), Jesus Christ walked on the earth. He lived and loved selflessly. He showed us how to love one another—those poorer than us, those who hate us, those who demand things from us, and those who speak against us. We are to love them all just as He did. He knew that real, genuine love would fix the human heart and He willingly walked the road to the cross to show that same real, genuine love for us.

We were made in the image of God, and He desires for us what He planned for Adam and Eve. He wants our lives to be full of love, beauty, wholeness, and goodness. He loved us with such an immense love that He sent His Son to suffer a painful death, so that we could spend eternity with Him (John 3:16-17).

In 1885, Christina Georgina Rossetti penned a beautiful poem titled “Love Came Down at Christmas” which was later set to music. The first stanza portrays an inviting image of the love of God descending to earth while the angels and the stars heralded the event. It says that love divine came down at Christmas. It says that the Savior of the world was born. Angels announced His birth and stars in the sky guided the people to the place of His birth (a manger inside a stable located in Bethlehem). Open a Bible to read the full story of Christ’s birth in Luke 1 and Luke 2.

This is the story of love. This is the story of Christmas. Love came down at Christmas. Unwrap that gift and share it with others.

Let’s Pray: Father God, thank you for the gift you gave us in that stable in Bethlehem. You sent your Son to show us how to love and we ask that you help us share that love with those who need it most. Let us not be concerned with how many gifts are under the tree but rather with that gift that is in our heart. Your love came down at Christmastime. Let us rejoice! In Jesus’s Name we pray. Amen.

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Note from Alexis: Kay’s devotional reminds me of the Christmas song “When Love Came Down” by Point of Grace. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

Learning to read as a young child opened a world of adventure for Kay Pflueger. She came to realize that words can have a unique power and beauty.

Choosing to share those words in her devotional writings has become a joyful and rewarding experience for her. As a widow, she feels a special affinity towards those who are grieving or experiencing loss.

When she is not spending time with her married son and three grandchildren, she is either reading, cooking, writing, or working on pursuing her Copyediting Certification.

Kay is an avid baseball fan who looks forward every summer to following her favorite team, the Chicago Cubs.

She is an active member of Victory Lutheran Church in her hometown of San Diego, California.

Kay enjoys writing devotions to be shared on her church’s website and personal social media.

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Connect with Kay:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kay.m.pflueger
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/irishsweetpea/