“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in His presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything.” 1 John 3:16-20

Advent has its center in God’s love. Shortly after this passage, the writer says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” I am thankful beyond measure for His merciful, unconditional love.

But the best love stories end with the lover’s love returned. So how do I love God back? What gift says “I love you” to One who has everything? And can I really ask these questions—-is my love for God as true and deep as I want to believe it is? 

My heart knows I continually live in the now-and-not-yet season of Advent. It feels right to me that we sing the joyful lyrics of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” to a minor key. I celebrate God living within me, yet at the same time I thirst for Him to come again in new ways, to continue to mend my brokenness, and to continue finding me when I lose my way. 

The scripture today is a gracious gift pointing us to a way to love God, to a way to know we belong to the truth, and to a way to rest in His presence in the now-and-not-yet, even when our hearts condemn us. It teaches that loving others through our actions is a gift to us, as much as by us.

Father, thank you for first loving us. We want to love you back, and to know that we love you. Grant us opportunities and wills today to go beyond words—-to love others with actions and in truth, and in so doing, to demonstrate our true love for you. Amen.

Steve Brookshire is a Dallas businessman and a member of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas.

Editor’s Note: This devotional was taken from the 2011 Buckner International Advent Guide. To see the rest of this year’s devotional guide, click here to download a PDF.