photo: © SWDD – Fotolia.com

Today’s candle is the Candle of love or the Angel Candle.  It is the third purple candle.

The Scripture in Luke tells us about the angels announcing His birth.  The Scripture in John tells about His motivation…or at least one motivation: love for us.

Now, we have 3 purple candles and 1 pink candle lit.  There is only one more candle left, the white one in the middle.  That one is lit on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day and is the Christ candle.  I won’t write about it until next Sunday.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”  Luke 2:8-15

For God so loved the world

that he gave his one and only Son, 

that whoever believes in him shall not perish

but have eternal life.  

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,

but to save the world through him.  

John 3:16-17

Often, when we pause from our busy-ness and multiple distractions, our response to GOD is worship.  Look at what He did for us because of His love, the self-sacrificial kind!  What else can we do but worship!

The bowed head of gratefulness that He loved us enough to come to earth and die for us, yes…and atone for sin…but also to be victorious over sin and death!  That is what made Easter so wonderful…He rose from the dead!  It all started here, in that manger in Bethlehem…or maybe earlier in the heart of Mary?  

“Even so, be it unto me.”

She knew it would not be an easy road at the start.  She had no idea how it would end!

It really started in the heart of GOD before Creation!  It started even before Adam and Eve sinned!

Jesus was not a pathetic victim of the evil Romans and the Jewish religious leaders.  He was the King and Victor over death and Hell!

We won’t feel the full impact of that victory until this earth is a memory and He is reigning over the new heavens and earth…but the victory has been won!

The grace that has been measured out to us is unimaginable!

What a cause to worship Him!  Thanks be to GOD!