What a controversial take for the world we live in. Love that isn't based on conditions or what you can gain from proximity. Love that doesn't give up on the first misunderstanding. Love that doesn't seek itself first. Love that actively seeks the best for others. It's not common, but neither is God.

This is a reminder that when the time between the promise and fulfillment are long, when the things that have sustained us fail, we can encourage our hearts with God's track record. We can hold on to our joy as we wait, because we know God will save us - no matter what the world around us is experiencing.

Have you ever found yourself trudging through the days? Focusing on "getting through" instead of expecting the best, the miraculous, or the beautiful to happen?    The first theme of Advent - HOPE - reminds us to look beyond our circumstances, with a joyful expectation of how God will fulfill His promises to us.   God made the promise of a Messiah to Israel hundreds of years before Christ came to Earth. Hundreds. Of. Years. Whew! Can you imagine? The first few months or year