Advent 4: Love

Advent 4: Love
The Loneliest Place On Earth
Where is the loneliest place on earth at Christmas?
The loveliest place in the Christmas story has to be the humble stable where Jesus was born.
What makes it the loveliest place on earth is who lives there. (Luke 2v8-12)
Now, step outside the little stable and look 6 miles north, into the heart of the city of Jerusalem.
In the middle of the city is a beautiful palace.
But what makes it the loneliest place on earth is who lives there. (Matthew 2)
In that palace lived a man named King Herod the Great.
King Herod was a great builder,
King Herod was a great humanitarian (at times).
King Herod was a great ruler.
But... King Herod the Great was greatly alone.
Loneliness is not the absence of people. Loneliness is the absence of love.
Why do we experience loneliness?
-God made us for companionship but sometimes sin separates us. (Isaiah 59 v1,2; Galatians 5v19-21)
-Sometimes we choose to be lonely. (Jeremiah 15v10) (Solitude is not loneliness - Matthew 6v6, Mark 9v2)
-Sometimes loneliness is the price tag you pay pursuing something else you want. (Ecclesiastes 2v10-11)
What made the biggest difference between the lonely palace and the lovely stable?
The presence of love/ presence of God. The cure for loneliness is love.
So how do we grow in love? How do we drive back loneliness?
1)Give someone else the gift of love. (Ecclesiastes 4 v9-10, Leviticus 19v33-34))
2)Seek out companionship. (Proverbs 17v17; 27 v8)
3)Lean on the Lord. (James 4v8; Psalm 27v4, 73v23-26; 1 Peter 3v12; Revelation 3v20)
God invites us into His love to heal our loneliness and also to help us live in community. (John 13v35, 1 John 4 v16)
Christmas can be the loneliest place on earth, or it can be the loveliest place on earth. What really makes a difference is if love is present.