Advent | Say Yes to Love

This Week’s Reading: 

An excerpt from The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis: 

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.”

Reflection:

When you think of love, what comes to mind? Maybe it’s a bride and groom on their wedding day, a mother holding her child for the first time, or the warmth of a table filled with laughter. When we picture love, we often focus on the beauty of it—the joy, goodness, and safety. But when we truly say yes to love, we open ourselves up to the cost. Love requires courage. It’s costly to open yourself up, to be vulnerable, to risk being hurt, and to be known by others.  

Yet, that is exactly what Christ did for us. 

The season of Advent is a season of waiting, preparation, and hope. We make room for Christ, celebrating the incarnation of Jesus. It’s also a season of courage. God invites us to step into a love that isn’t safe, that pushes the boundaries of what our society has taught us about love. He invites us into a love that compels us to step into the world with our hearts on our sleeves. That kind of love is risky, but it’s the same love that Jesus demonstrated first.  

The Vulnerability of Christ 

When we reflect on the birth of Jesus, we might focus on a peaceful scene: a star glowing in the sky, travelers coming to see the newborn King, a baby sleeping soundly in a manger. But it’s also important to remember that Jesus was born a dependent and fragile infant. God came to the world not with power or status, but in weakness, enduring persecution. He chose to enter a world that would despise, reject, and crucify Him.  

If there is anyone who can sympathize with the vulnerability of love, it’s Christ. 

Advent reveals that God wants us close to Him; He will risk anything to get low with us and embrace us in His love. He does not hold back love; He enters into our messiness and walks alongside us.  

It’s easy to love from afar, to care from a distance, to stay on the outskirts—untouched by the messiness of a person’s real need. But it says a lot more when we enter into another person’s mess wholeheartedly. That is what God has done for us. He is the embodiment of love. He willingly walks alongside us, no matter the cost. His love is personal. It doesn’t care about being interrupted, inconvenienced, or hurt.  

If we want to love like Christ, we have to do the same.  

The Desire to Protect Ourselves  

C.S. Lewis understood the instinct we have to protect ourselves from pain. We guard our hearts in subtle ways, avoiding difficulty so we don’t have to give more than we want to. We keep conversations shallow to avoid rejection. We busy ourselves so we don’t have to feel. We send thoughts and vibes instead of entering into someone’s reality to help them carry their burdens. We pursue control so we don’t have to trust.  

As Lewis says, we keep our hearts wrapped in “little luxuries,” whether they be distractions, hobbies, our phones, or defenses to keep love at a safe distance. Our hearts become closed off and walls are built up. But when we keep our hearts locked away, we lock out connection, relationship, and God. 

To be known, fully known, is always scary, but true love—risky love—requires vulnerability. It requires openness. The Advent season gives us an opportunity to imitate the way Jesus loves: generously, vulnerably, boldly. In His love, He forgives, reaches out first, shows compassion, and is present with others—even when it’s hard.  

Saying Yes Even When It’s Difficult  

Many of us desire to love others like Christ, but our human nature gets the better of us. We get tired, annoyed, disappointed, overwhelmed, or scared. When love gets hard, we might be tempted to retreat. Love is hard when our trust has been broken, when someone doesn’t love us back, when we’ve been hurt, or when we want to be in control.  

This is when we hesitate, hide, and close ourselves off. We wait for others to move first. We don’t speak honestly. We let relationships fade. We tell ourselves it’s safer to build walls around our hearts. But Christ calls us out of hiding. In the season of Advent, He calls us into the light: 

He says, “Do not be afraid” (Proverbs 3:19-26). 

He says, “Draw near to Me” (Luke 15).  

He says, “Come out of hiding” (Matthew 5:14-16).  

He calls us to say yes to love.  

Matthew 22:37-39 reads, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”  

God has commanded us to love Him with every part of our lives. He calls us to love others as we love ourselves: not halfheartedly, but unashamedly, boldly, and without strings attached. Lavish those around you with love. Say yes to love this Advent season.

Questions to Consider: 

• Where in my life am I keeping my heart closed off?  
• How have past hurts shaped the way I protect myself? What is Jesus inviting me to release?
• How might God be calling me to soften my heart in a small way this Advent season?
• How do I want to be loved? How can I love others in those ways?

Closing Prayer: 

Lord, thank You for displaying sacrificial and radical love toward Your children. Thank You for sending Your Son to be my Savior so that I can have a relationship with You. Help me embrace the gift of Your love. Help me face my fear of vulnerability and establish a boldness in my love toward others. Help me to love like You do.  

Show me how I can love others well this Christmas and in the weeks to come. Show me how I can let the walls of my heart down. You are compassionate and gracious, Father— thank You for lavishing Your perfect love on me. Amen.