God’s Crazy, Immense Love

November 16, 2021

The Gift of Advent

God’s Crazy, Immense Love

Meditating on the Gift of Advent

By Wendy Berghane, Hearts Alive Curriculum Specialist

A dream of mine came true recently, in the release of my first published book: The King Is Coming: Advent Devotional for Children. It’s been an amazing and unexpected journey that God placed me in, completely surprising me with such growth and blessing. And isn’t that what Advent is about? Taking time to reflect and grow and sit in awe of the tremendous blessing of Jesus? Advent reminds us not only of the amazing gift that we are given in the birth of Jesus, but this gift of a second coming. The gift of eternal life with God. A gift that we couldn’t have planned more beautifully or perfectly.

My prayer for families this Advent season, and the heart behind the devotional, is that they truly come to understand God’s love. The God who created the universe with such amazing detail also created you with such intentionality and purpose. And in his great love for us, he sent his Son to take on our sins so that we can be clothed in perfection and be with him forever. Hebrews 10:17 tells us, “Their sins and lawless acts, I will remember no more.” This verse leaves me in awe every time I read it.

God chooses to forget our sin.

Re-read that last sentence. It’s unfathomable.

Friends, when we accept the gift of Jesus, it changes the game. No longer defined by our shortcomings, our bad decisions, or our poor attitude, we instead get to live in freedom—free from the weight of our mistakes, free from the burden of trying to be perfect. The gift of Jesus gives us the ability to live our lives with the assurance that we are accepted just as we are. Not because we did anything to make that happen, but simply because that is the crazy, immense love God has for his people. That is the crazy, immense love God has for YOU.

This Advent season, I encourage you to dwell on the gift of Jesus.

The beautiful story of his birth, his life, his death, and his resurrection. The intentionality God had with his life. The things he taught us, the message of God’s love, and the death he bore that frees us. Consider the fact that he sees you as perfect because every sin you have committed and will ever commit, Jesus took to the grave. Relish in the freedom God has granted you. And praise God for his promise to come again to restore the world, giving us all eternal life. Advent is the time to thank him for the gift of Jesus’s birth, and eagerly anticipate the second coming. What a glorious day it will be as we run towards a good and loving Father in a new and perfect world!

I am truly so grateful for the opportunity to write an Advent devotional for families and pray every day it blesses the homes it ends up in. I pray that families are able to come together and truly get to know the story of salvation. And I pray it sparks great conversation and ignites or renews a passion for all things Jesus. Advent is not just about waiting for Baby Jesus to arrive. It’s a time to truly reflect on the entire story of God’s love, grace, and mercy through the gift of Jesus. And how it was designed for you.

The King Is Coming is a 4-week Advent devotional especially written with a child’s heart in mind. It takes families through the salvation story by focusing on who God is, the gift of Jesus, and the importance of celebrating and sharing that miraculous gift! Bring your family together this Advent season for a journey exploring God’s big love for you! Click here to download a sample or purchase the book!