And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:17b-19

We have been in a process of looking at the implications of Christmas this Advent season; and as we continue to explore the difference Jesus makes, I am increasingly amazed at the width, length, height and depth of the love of God. [ref. Ephesians 3:17-19]

Even as I was preparing for this past weekend’s message, I found myself filled with awe that the God of the universe wants to be with me…with you…with us!  The incarnation is truly a beautiful expression of His great love.

God with us!!

Check this out. The following is an excerpt from an interview that singer and musician, Bono, did a few years back with author, Michka Assayas.  If you are a U2 fan, you’re going to love this.

“I remember coming back from a very long tour…On Christmas Eve I went to St. Patrick’s Cathedral…It had dawned on me before, but it really sank in: the Christmas story. The idea that God, if there is a force of Love and Logic in the universe, that it would seek to explain itself is amazing enough. That it would seek to explain itself and describe itself by becoming a child born in straw poverty… a child, I just thought: “Wow!” Just the poetry. Unknowable love, unknowable power, describes itself as the most vulnerable. There it was. I was sitting there, and …tears came down my face, and I saw the genius of this, utter genius of picking a particular point in time and deciding to turn on this. Because that’s exactly what we were talking about earlier: love needs to find form, intimacy needs to be whispered. To me, it makes sense. It’s actually logical. It’s pure logic. Essence has to manifest itself. It’s inevitable. Love has to become an action or something concrete. It would have to happen. There must be an incarnation. Love must be made flesh.”

Friends – Christmas is a great time to celebrate a God who was utterly compelled to show his love for us by sending His son…to be with us. Take a moment to worship Him right now for His love as a people loved.

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14