This Is Love: When God Gave His Very Best - Alyssa McKnight
At Christmas time, we’re surrounded by familiar characters and stories. From Buddy the Elf to Kevin from Home Alone, from romantic leads in festive films to the nativity scene itself, there’s no shortage of faces that define the season.
But in the middle of all that, we can sometimes miss a deeper question: what did Christmas actually cost God?
This message, preached by Alyssa McKnight as part of our Advent series This Is Love, invites us to slow down and reflect on the heart of God revealed in Christmas. Drawing on 1 John 4:9–10, Alyssa helps us see that love isn’t just something God talks about — it’s something He does.
In this post, we’ll explore what these verses teach us about the nature of God’s love, how that love meets us exactly where we are, and what it looks like to respond to it in everyday life.
Love That Gives Its Best
The apostle John writes:
“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.”
God didn’t send a messenger. He didn’t send an angel. He didn’t send a substitute.
He sent His Son.
Jesus didn’t come merely to be a friend — though He is that. He didn’t come only to be a teacher — though His words still shape lives today. He came to give His life, taking on the weight of sin and shame, dying a criminal’s death so that we could truly live.
As Alyssa put it so simply and powerfully:
“God gave us His best — and that is love.”
Real love doesn’t settle for a knock-off version. It doesn’t give what’s convenient or leftover. Love gives its best, even when it’s costly.
That truth invites an honest question:
Are we offering our best to the people we love — or just what’s easy?
Love That Begins With God, Not Us
The next verse takes us even deeper:
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
This is one of the most freeing truths in the Christian faith.
God’s love does not start with our response. It doesn’t turn on when we behave well, pray more, or feel spiritually close. God loved us first — before belief, before obedience, before understanding.
Your current relationship with God — whether strong, fragile, or uncertain — is not a measure of how much He loves you.
As Alyssa reminded us:
“There’s nothing we can do to make God love us any less.”
God’s love flows from His nature, not our performance. It’s steady in the highs and the lows. It holds us when we feel close and when we feel far away.
It’s a love that takes on shame, absorbs hurt, and keeps choosing mercy — even when it isn’t deserved.
Love That Flows Through Us
So if that’s the nature of God’s love, what should our response be?
John doesn’t leave us guessing:
“Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
Loving others isn’t an optional extra for Christians. It’s the natural overflow of being loved by God.
That’s not always easy. Loving people can hurt — especially when we’ve been insulted, overlooked, or wounded. But the pattern of love we follow is the love God showed us: forgiving, self-giving, and undeserved.
Alyssa offered a simple image to help us picture this:
God’s love is meant to flow through us, not stop with us.
Like a pipe, love is poured in — but it’s meant to flow out. When love gets clogged up by bitterness, fear, or self-protection, something is off. But when God’s love moves freely through us, it brings life to others.
That leads to a gentle but confronting question:
What kind of pipe are we becoming?
Living in the Flow of Love
At the heart of Christmas is this truth:
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us.”
God gave His best.
God loved first.
God’s love keeps flowing.
And now, we’re invited to reflect that same love in the world around us.
One Way to Live It Out This Week
Choose one person this week to love intentionally.
It might be through a kind word, an apology, a generous act, or simply listening well. Don’t overthink it — just let God’s love flow through you in a small, practical way.
A Short Prayer
God of love, thank You for giving us Your very best in Jesus.
Thank You that Your love doesn’t depend on our performance, but flows from who You are.
Help Your love move freely through us — healing what’s clogged, softening what’s hard,
and shaping us to love others the way You have loved us.
Amen.
Reflection & Discussion Questions
Personal Reflection
Where do you most clearly see God’s love in your life right now?
Are there areas where you find it hard to believe that God loves you unconditionally?
What might it look like for God’s love to flow more freely through you?
Small Group Discussion
What stood out to you most from this message, and why?
How does the idea that God loved us first change the way you see faith?
What makes it difficult to accept love that isn’t earned?
Where do you see people in your life needing love right now?
What “clogs” can stop God’s love flowing through us?
How does Jesus’ example reshape how we respond when we’re hurt?
What’s one practical way our group could reflect God’s love together?
Who can we pray for — or pray with — as we ask God to help us love more like Him?