‘Everyone seems to agree: Christmas is about love.’
So starts this advent devotional which, as the title suggests, is all about love. But, what exactly is meant by ‘love’? During the Christmas season, love is talked about on television, in celebrity interviews, as part of slogans to sell more gifts, as well as sung about in numerous feel-good Christmas songs!
Ferguson introduces us to this devotional by showing us that real love can be summed up in two words: Jesus Christ.
Before delving into the daily devotionals, we are encouraged to spend time reading through 1 Corinthians 13, substituting our own names for the words ‘love’ or ‘it’. Do we ‘measure up’ as an example of real love? We are then asked to read the passage again, this time substituting those same two words with the name Jesus. Through doing this, Ferguson hopes that, as readers, we will see what we are called to be like as Christians (and how far short we have fallen) but also to see what Jesus is like.
Ferguson focuses on one line of the text each day, exploring what it means for us. His hope is that, through reading and prayerfully considering this passage, we will not be swept up with the sentimental, tinsel-covered kind of love that is so prevalent at this time of year but that we would be drawn to real love that is to be found in the person of the Lord Jesus.
A ‘Reflection’ section at the end of each chapter (usually posed as a question to the reader) helps us to think carefully about how each day’s devotional can be applied to our own lives; and how we can grow in becoming more like our Saviour.