Love from Sorrow
By Anthony Casperson
12-16-23
Among the many Christmas specials filmed throughout the years, have you ever noticed how many revolve around the emotional connection we call love? Some show protagonists who remember the emotional togetherness of family. Others turn to found family tropes. And that’s not counting the plethora of cheesy movies that take place during the holiday season where the female lead returns home discover/rekindle romance with a man who never left the town. (No, I haven’t watched any of those movies, but I’ve heard the memes often enough.)
But one thing that you’ll notice about all of these affectionate films is that they only portray love from the lovey-dovey, butterflies-in-the-stomach sort of emotion and attraction that our culture refers to as love. It’s not true biblical love. Not what God’s love means, even though we try to forcefully contain his lovingkindness within such a limiting boundary.
I mean, if we look to Jesus’ own words about love found in John 15:9-14, we can see that he calls us to show our love for him by obeying his commands. And that the greatest love that one can have is to lay down their life for their friends. Then, circling back to the idea of obedience in godliness and holiness as a showcasing of our love of him, Jesus says that we are his friends if we do what he commands.
On top of that, we can look to the chapter called the “love chapter” in the bible, 1 Corinthians 13. A brief perusal of verses 4-7 will reveal a definition of love that has nothing to do with emotions or attraction. As a matter of fact, the words show us a love that exists despite of any irritation or annoyance that we might feel toward another at any given moment. And if we look at the full context of the chapter within the book, we can see a continual call for we followers of Jesus to love through a selfless giving of ourselves for others for their betterment.
Thus, it only makes sense that we should see love as selfless self-sacrifice for the benefit of others.
And this is what we celebrate during this season of our Savior’s birth. The baby in the manger isn’t the end of the story. Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, enfleshed himself in humanity with the express intention of showing us this kind of love. Love that was predicted centuries before that night in Bethlehem when a child’s cries could be heard.
In Isaiah 52:13-53:12 we see the Suffering Servant passage which we most often speak of in the context of Resurrection Sunday. But that love portrayed on the cross dwelt among us since the day of his birth. We can’t separate the events when it comes to this love of God for we sinners who were far from him.
This love led God to take on the flesh of humanity in order to one day be beaten and bruised. To be a laughingstock among his peers. To be rejected by many. And to be one so acquainted with sorrow and grief that their essence couldn’t be divorced from his very presence. Forever a part of the definition of his existence.
This is the love that we celebrate this season as it came to dwell among us. Love that sacrifices to bring life to all who accept it. Love that seeks our betterment away from sin and toward holiness. Love that motivates us to obey the commands of our Lord and Savior.
Love lived from womb to tomb, and beyond.
So, this year as we consider the season of love, let’s stop thinking of it as emotional sentimentality and instead see the selflessness of sacrifice for the betterment of others toward holiness.
Let’s be willing to be people of sorrows so that others might know true godly love.