An Advent Storybook and Study: Seeking Truth, Goodness, and Beauty
Copyright 2025 by Lūminé Press, Written by Elsie Lungren, Illustrated by Nicoleta Dabija
Day 15
“Today,” began Mormor, “we light three candles on our Advent wreath. The first candle helped us to remember that because of Jesus, we have Hope. The second candle helped us to remember that because of Jesus, we have Peace. Today, and throughout this week, the third candle will help us remember that because of Jesus, we have Love. Can each of you share something you know about love?”
Astrid raised her hand. “Love is being kind.”
Linnea added, “Astrid is right. I memorized 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, which tells us what love is, and it says love is kind. Also, it says four times in the Bible that we should love God with all of our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength; and at least three times it says we should love our neighbor as ourself. That’s in Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27, and Deuteronomy 6:5.”
“Also,” began Theo, “love is from God. It tells us that in 1 John 4:7. And in verse 19 it says, ‘We love because He first loved us.’ That means we know how to love someone else because we know what it feels like to be loved by God and by someone who knows God and knows how to show God’s love to us. God is the one who came up with the idea of love, and so people who don’t know God or who have never felt God’s love don’t know what God’s love is. They might use the word love, but they don’t really know what God’s love is because they have never experienced it. This is why I like the first verse of the song, Pass It On, so much.”
Annika said, “The New Testament was originally written in Greek, and the Greek language has four words that all translate to the word ‘love’ in English. One of them is about the love that parents have for their children, or that brothers and sisters have for each other. It’s love in the family. Another one is the love that is in a friendship. Then there is romantic love that is in a marriage. But in the Bible, the Greek word that is almost always used for love is agapē. It is talking about the love that God has for all of the world, and that He wants us to have for all of the world. It is unconditional love. It is all the time, no matter what. I think this love includes all of the others.”
“My turn!” said Lukas. “Remember the love languages! There are many different ways to show love to someone. The five love languages are Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Receiving Gifts, Quality Time, and Physical Touch.”
“You all know so much about what love is! ” said Mormor. “Let’s start with 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Linnea, do you want to recite it for us?”
“Sure,” said Linnea. “I memorized it from The Living Bible.
“4Love is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, 5never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong. 6It is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out. 7If you love someone you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him, and always stand your ground in defending him” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 TLB).
“Thank you, Linnea,” said Mormor. “I also like the NIV translation of verse 7 that says love ‘always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.’ And I like the last verse of that chapter that says, ‘And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love’ (1 Cor. 13:13 NIV). The greatest of these is love. It sounds like love is important, right? When Jesus sums up the law in two sentences, do you notice that both of them begin with the word ‘Love’? Linnea quoted them for us when she said, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, your mind, and your strength; and Love your neighbor as yourself. Yes, love is very important to God. Psalm 118:2 says that God’s love endures forever.
“These verses are a great definition of agapē love. In fact, all of the verses that all of you have mentioned are about agapē love. Even the love in John 3:16 is agapē love. And so is the love in Galatians 5:22 when we learn about the fruit of the Spirit. And in 1 John 4:16 that says, ‘God is love.’
“1 John 4 helps us understand, as Theo said, that God is one who came up with the whole idea of love. Theo, would you read 1 John 4:9-10 for us?”
“Sure,” said Theo.
“‘This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins’ (1 John 4:9-10 NIV).”
“Thank you, Theo,” said Mormor. “And Astrid, I think you’ve memorized John 3:16. Would you say that for us?”
“I can do that!” said Astrid.
“‘For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life’ (John 3:16, NIV).”
“Thank you, Astrid,” said Mormor. “Today, when we light the third candle, we can remember that Jesus came into the world as a gift to us from God, because of how much God loves us. Here on Earth, Jesus loved us so much that He paid the price for our sins so that we wouldn’t have to, and so that we could live forever with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, first on Earth and then in Heaven.
“And then,” continued Mormor, “John tells us, ‘let us love one another, for love comes from God’ (1 John 4:7 NIV).
“That brings me to Lukas’s excellent reminder of how there are different ways to show love. Let’s review those love languages. They were first described by a pastor named Gary Chapman in 1992. Can anyone explain the Words of Affirmation language?”
Lukas said, “That is when you compliment someone, or say something nice to them, or encourage them. You use words.”
“That’s right, Lukas,” said Mormor. “How about Acts of Service? Does anyone want to explain that one?”
Astrid said, “That is when you do something to help someone else. You use actions.”
“Yes, Astrid!” said Mormor. “What’s next? Can anyone explain Receiving Gifts?”
Linnea said, “Some people feel loved when they receive a gift from someone else that was very thoughtful. It doesn’t even have to cost any money. It could be something that is homemade, like making them a card.”
“Thank you, Linnea,” said Mormor. “How about Quality Time?”
“Quality time is when a person feels loved because the other person is paying attention to them and spending time with them. And they are not distracted by other things.”
“Great explanation, Theo,” said Mormor. “Annika, would you explain the Physical Touch language to us?”
“Sure,” said Annika. “Some people feel loved when they are hugged, or the person is holding their hand.”
“What happens,” asked Mormor, “if the person who is trying to show their love is speaking a different love language than the person they are trying to show it to? For example, let’s say one person likes to use the language of Acts of Service, and so he tries to show his love by doing something nice for the other person, but the other person best understands the language of Words of Affirmation?”
Linnea raised her hand. “That person might not realize that the person who is doing a nice thing is doing it to show love. They might be waiting for the person to say something nice to them instead!”
“Is there any way to fix that problem?” asked Mormor.
“Well,” said Theo, “if you want to show someone that you love them, it would help if you could figure out what that person’s love language is! For example, if you notice that they hang up every single card that anyone has ever given them, and they have a box of keepsakes in their room, then maybe their favorite language is Receiving Gifts! So, you could make them a card or a gift!”
“It is good to remember that,” said Mormor, “as we prepare for Christmas. A lot of people think Christmas is about giving and receiving gifts. But if what we want to do is show love, we could remember that there are other ways to do that. We could use our words, our actions, and our time to show our love. And our love, as Astrid told us, is all about being kind. It is how we show someone that we care about them. We care about how they feel, about what happens in their life, about who they are right now, and about who they become.
“So as we light this third candle, let’s sing the first verse of Pass It On. I’m so glad that Theo reminded us of that song. Here are the words:”
“It only takes a spark to get a fire going,
And soon all those around can warm up in its glowing;
That’s how it is with God’s Love,
Once you’ve experienced it,
Your spread the love to everyone
You want to pass it on” (Kaiser, 1969).
Reading: 1 John 4:7 “Let us love one another, for love comes from God.”
Hymns:
Pass It On written by Kurt Kaiser in 1969.
Redeeming Love composed by William J. Gaither and Gloria Gaither, arranged by Ron Huff, in 1963.
