Advent: Love as an Action

December 17, 2022

Bible Readings

Take a few minutes to read the Bible verses listed and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in how this verse applies to you this week.

John 13:1-38

Memory Verse

John 13:34-35

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (NIV)

written by Ron VandenBurg
illustrated by Chad Thompson

We see Casey writing thank you cards at Christmas. The tree is in the background. The envelopes are red or green and addressed to Mrs Zhang, Ms Visser, and Mr. and Mrs. Cruz. On the card, Casey writes, “Dear Coach, Great job this year! Thank you…”

Casey delivers an envelope to her neighbor’s mailbox which says “Clark” on it. The Envelope says, “Mr. and Mrs. Clark. Thanks for all you do!” Casey has a box full of cards to deliver.

Casey delivers an envelope to the Kapoor Family mailbox. There’s a wreath on the door. Casey thinks, “I think love is not just a feeling. It’s an action.”

Print Comic

Waiting is hard. But often it can make the time go faster if you do something while you wait. What if you were told to love while you waited? Would that make the time go faster? People usually think of love as a feeling. Did you ever think of love as an action? Well, God’s love is active!

In John 13, Jesus told his disciples that he would soon be going into heaven and that they would have to wait for him to return. But Jesus gave his followers something to do while they waited: love one another with the same love that he had shown them. Jesus’ love is self-sacrificing love that puts the needs of others first. It’s not just a feeling; it’s a love that acts! It touches people’s lives, heals them, feeds them, comforts them, cries with them, washes their feet, and even dies for them. That is a difficult kind of love! The Holy Spirit gives you this kind of active love as one of the “Fruit of the Spirit.” Sharing that gift shows people that you are a follower of Jesus.

Advent has been a time of waiting. But while you waited, you loved others by sharing your gifts of kindness. You practiced the job Jesus gave to his disciples; to love one another! You did something! You put hope, peace, and joy into action! Christmas is next week, but we are still waiting for Jesus to come back, so there is plenty of time to fill with love. What are you waiting for?

Prayer

Loving Jesus, you gave us a new command to love one another. Help us to do this difficult kind of love, so that everyone will know that we are your disciples. Amen.

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Ron VandenBurg

Senior Producer of Children’s Ministry at ReFrame Ministries

Ron VandenBurg joined the ReFrame Ministries team in 2014. He plans and develops projects specifically for the spiritual formation of children. Before coming to ReFrame, Ron taught middle-school for 27 years. Ron completed a M. Ed. degree in Teaching, Learning and Development at Brock University. Ron and Rachel have three fantastic adult children and one grandchild and reside in Ontario.