Here is the fourth and final prayer of this advent season! If your video does not play automatically, simply click the play button. The caption below it will make more sense after the 30-second prayer.

"What's love got to do with it?"

The very popular 80's song has me pondering a different question:

What is creation’s story telling us about our God’s intent?

There can only be one answer.

As soon as I was old enough to hold a crayon, I was drawing. Then I fell in love with painting. When I have a new canvas in front of me, it is blank; empty, and void of anything. So God began with a “blank canvas.”

Once I pick up the brush, I begin with large sweeps across the canvas. Light and dark colors give a general shape to whatever I’m creating. Much the same as what God did first.

Smaller shapes made with the brush bring more definition. The painting becomes a bit more interesting, just like God’s creation when He separated the waters with an expanse He called “sky.”

Ah, do you see the scene coming together now?

I am what you call a “realist artist,” who creates realistic artwork. That requires attention to detail—oh how I crave detail! With what unfolds next in the creation story, it is an understatement to say our God is a god of detail! He proceeds to call forth all forms of vegetation on the earth. Imagine the succulence as “mangoes laden the branches of their trees, blackberries burst forth on the bushes, cabernet grapes drip from the vine, fields of sun-flowers stand upright, their happy faces to the new sun.” 1

Notice how His gift of vegetation appeals to all our senses. From the vast textures of all the different fruits, to their diverse mouth-watering flavors. From the stunning array of colors and intricate detail of flowers, to their unique fragrances. I love the sweet and tangy aroma of gardenias sneaking through my back porch. Listen as tree branches sway in the mighty forces of the wind, rustling their leaves. Imagine how coconuts land with a thud on the hard ground.

As if that weren’t enough, God is not done yet! Fish of every color, some even glowing, begin to jump and swim in the seas. Some are smaller than your finger, others larger than a house!

Is there no limit to our God’s creativity?

Eagles soar on their wings as songbirds boast their melodies from the trees that lie a stone’s throw from my upstairs back porch. Pink flamingos take their stance on a mud flat in East Africa, while ostriches race across the African savannah.

There is more still. Land animals appear next. From man’s best friend (I have furry companion myself!), to the king of cats; from cows that provide sustenance, to polar bears exploring the icy waters. You can see the complexity of God’s work increasing with each day.

But wait, it gets even better. Even better?! Just to think on what comes next, with a deep awe of all that has been created up until now fresh in my mind’s eye…I am moved to tears. Satisfied with all He’s made so far, God determines something different is needed. Something, or someone, with whom He can share ALL the love and intimacy and adventure with.

Man and woman are created in the very image of God; to be just like Him. And to rule over every living creature. He creates humans and sets us right down in the middle of all this wonder and adventure.

Why would God go to such great lengths?

Through all of this, it is obvious God is creative, but creativity is not His point. He was not merely showing off. Why would God go to such great lengths to create a world as stunning and mesmerizing as this for us to enjoy and rule over? What is creation’s story telling us about our God’s intent? There can only be one answer.

Love.

God uses his creation to woo us. We have become stale, and consumed with our busy lives. We hardly notice the beauty around us, if at all. Many days I’m so impatient with my own circumstances and healing that I get caught between the temptation to either rush it along or give up (even if only briefly). All I think is how I can’t get there fast enough.

Then all of sudden, I am awakened. A colorful, vivid sunset with hues I’ve forgotten seizes my attention. Or a bite of delectable cake dances upon my tongue with tantalizing flavors that draw me to give thanks for simple pleasures. Maybe it’s the unmistakable aroma of coffee brewing. The comfort of burying my face in our puppy's soft, curly, brown merle fur. Or the innocent cry of my grandbabies needing to be held close.

And I am undone. I remember I was made for a world created by Love, in love, and for love. An act of love itself. This is what creation’s story is telling us about God.

Creation and Advent

God’s self-sacrificing, unconditional love (Agape love) is what moved Him to humbly come as a needy babe—Jesus. He also gave us familial love, family kinship, and common bonds with others (Phileo love), along with self-serving appetites (Eros love) such as food/drink, play/entertainments, and even sexual love (a marriage gift) to ultimately remind us over and over of the God we are meant to know. There is no war between the different experiences of love; they are an offering to whet our appetite to know the Creator of all good things and begin to understand the scope of His love for us.

Yes, love also becomes wounded in us when people, including ourselves, do not love perfectly and things cannot satisfy the depth of our soul’s need (the reason addictions are insatiable). “We all fail on the most essential virtue of all, the virtue of Eden: We fail when it comes to loving.” 2

But the longing to experience love cannot be stopped. All of creation groans for its redemption and transformation. 3 Here between Eden and Heaven lies the Advent of Christ. God humbling Himself to come in human form to show us what Love looks and acts like. To die for our sins so that we can live. 4 To tear the veil between heaven and earth that we may begin to see Him as He truly is. 5 Then, our groaning will be permanently satisfied when Jesus comes again, bringing Heaven to Earth, making all things new as it was meant to be when we will know and experience Him fully once again. For now we see in part, but then we shall know in full. 6

Oh friend, these are the final days of Advent. How are you feeling at this point? Stay with this love advent breath prayer this week, and the previous ones of joy, peace, and hope. In addition to breathing these beautiful words of truth, let me add one more prayer for us:

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Love, Joy, Peace, and Hope,

1 and 2 John Eldredge, Epic, p. 43 | 3 Romans 8:22 | 4 1 John 4:9 | 5 Matthew 27:51 | 6 1 Corinthians 13:12-13

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