David Jeremiah (June 16, 2024) Daily Devotional: Of the Father’s Love Begotten.
Greater lover has no one that this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. - John 15:13
Recommended Reading: John 3:16-21 - For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
Perhaps the oldest Christmas hymn still in popular usage is the hauntingly beautiful carol by Aurilius Clemens Prudentius, “Of the Father’s Love Begotten.” Prudentius was born in northern Spain in A.D. 348, not long after Christianity was legalized in the Roman Empire. He was a lawyer and provincial governor by profession, but in his mid-fifties he retired from government service and devoted himself to writing sacred poetry. He’s been called “The Prince of Early Christian Poets,” and his hymn about Jesus, begotten of the Father’s love, is among the most beautiful ever written, especially when sung to the probing melody, “Divinum Mysterium,” which was composed a thousand years ago. The carol was originally made up of nine verses that told the story of redemption and was translated into English in the 1850s by John M. Neale and Henry Baker.
The message of Jesus is this—“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13). Jesus’ message was God’s love for the people of this world. And there is no better way to reflect the true Light of Christmas than by sharing the love of Christ who came into this world with a message: “God loves you.”
Christmas provides one of our best opportunities to share the warmth of God’s love with others. As Jesus came to be the Light of the World, we should carry that light into the hearts and lives of those in our family, workplace, church, and community. The warmth of Christmas comes from the inside. Through the gifts we bestow, the cards we send, the letters we write, the invitations we extend, the carols we sing, and the greetings we give—may God use us to encourage others toward Christ. During this happy season, allow the warmth, wishes, and witness of the season to well up within you to overflowing.
With Christmas only three days away, spend some time in prayer as a family, thanking God for His marvelous gift of love— His Son, Jesus Christ. Read John 3:16 together and ask God to give you the opportunity and boldness to share the Gospel with an unsaved loved one this Christmas.
Of the Father’s love begotten,
Ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega,
He the Source, the Ending He
Of the things that are, that have been, And that future years shall see, Evermore and evermore.
