LOVE BECAME FLESH IN CHRIST
Love is not first a feeling; it is a Person. Before love ever warmed the heart, it stepped into history, clothed in humility, walking our dust-filled roads. Love looked like Christ touching lepers, dining with sinners, blessing children, and refusing to abandon the broken. This is why love cannot be reduced to sentimentality or romance; it is holy resolve, God moving toward us when we had nothing to offer but need. In Christ, love is not abstract; it is embodied mercy with calloused hands and a pierced brow.
The Bible teaches that love originates in God Himself, not in human effort. The Word of God reminds us that love does not begin with our affection toward Him, but with His deliberate action toward us, sending His Son as the atoning gift that deals honestly with sin while opening the door to reconciliation (1 John 4:9-10). Love tells the truth, even when it costs; it does not pretend the wound is shallow, yet it provides the cure. At the cross, justice and mercy meet without compromise, and love stands unashamed in the middle.
This kind of love reshapes how we live with one another. Love bears burdens without keeping score; it waits patiently without growing resentful; it refuses to rejoice in wrongdoing but delights in what is true and good (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). Love is not weakness dressed in kindness; it is strength under control, choosing faithfulness when revenge would be easier. When Christ rules the heart, love becomes the posture of the soul, not the performance of the moment.
Ultimately, love is how the world is meant to recognize the followers of Jesus. Our arguments may be sharp and our convictions firm, yet without love they become noise. Jesus Himself taught that visible, practiced love among His people would serve as the identifying mark that we belong to Him (John 13:34-35). When love governs our speech, shapes our patience, and fuels our obedience, Christ is made visible again in a world desperate to see Him.
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Lord Jesus, teach us to love as You have loved us; not with shallow emotion, but with truth, sacrifice, and grace. Let Your love rule our hearts, guide our words, and steady our lives, that others may see You through us. Amen.
BDD
