Our scripture for today is Romans 5:8: “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, ESV).
Love That Reaches Us at Our Worst: Romans 5:8 reminds us that God didn’t wait for us to clean ourselves up before offering His love. While we were still sinners—broken, rebellious, and unable to fix ourselves—Christ came for us. In love, He took on flesh and entered into our suffering, pain, and darkness. As Charles Spurgeon once said: “The greatest love you will ever know is this—when you had no merit, no strength, and no hope, God loved you.”
Love That Costs Everything: Advent is the celebration of God sending His Son, but Christmas cannot be separated from Calvary. Jesus’ cradle points directly to His cross. Philippians 2:6-8 shows us the humility and cost of Christ’s love: “Though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8, ESV).
The Love That Redeems: Christ didn’t sacrifice His life reluctantly; He gave it willingly. He went to the cross to reconcile us to God. Isaiah 53:5 reminds us: “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5, ESV). The cost of love is great—but the fruit of His love is eternal: peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation with God.
