When God Comes Close: Holy Love Made Flesh

By the fourth week of Advent, the waiting is almost over.

Three candles already glow — Hope, Peace, and Joy —

and now, we light the final flame: Love.

The light has grown brighter each week,

but this candle feels different.

It’s softer, steadier, somehow closer —

as if the glow itself leans toward us.

This is the mystery of Christmas:

the holiness of God made human.

“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.”

— John 1:14

The Holiness That Draws Near

All through Scripture, holiness seemed unreachable.

It was the burning bush Moses had to take off his shoes for,

the mountain covered in smoke,

the glory that filled the temple so fully no one could enter.

And then, one silent night, holiness took on skin.

The unreachable became touchable.

The infinite became an infant.

Love came close — not to judge from a distance, but to dwell among us.

Jesus didn’t come wrapped in wealth or power.

He came wrapped in flesh and laid in straw,

entering the world the way we do —

through vulnerability, through family, through love.

Holiness didn’t back away from the mess.

It moved in next door.

---

Love That Makes All Things New

When God draws near, everything changes.

Love has always been His way of making wrong things right.

Not with force, but with presence.

Where fear once ruled, love makes space.

Where shame silenced hearts, love calls us by name.

Where distance defined the story, love closes the gap.

This is what we’ve been building toward all Advent —

the realization that holiness isn’t just purity set apart,

but love that comes close enough to heal.

---

Reflect

As you light your fourth candle, pause and look at all four together — Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.

This is what God’s holiness looks like in full color:

a steady flame that keeps drawing nearer.

Ask yourself:

• Where have I seen God’s love draw near to me this year?
• How might I embody that same love in my home, my family, my world?
• What does it mean that Immanuel — “God with us” — is still true today?

---

Practice: Lighting Love

Gather your family and light all four candles.

Read John 1:1–14 together, slowly and reverently.

Let the words wash over you — the mystery of holiness made human.

Pray together:

“Holy Love,

You came close when we could not reach You.

You clothed Yourself in humanity to show us Your heart.

Dwell among us again this Christmas,

and let Your love make all things new.”

---

Continue the Journey

Inside our Rooted Minds Advent Devotional: Week Four — Holy Love, you’ll find daily reflections and creative practices that celebrate this miracle of incarnation —

from light breaking into darkness to love moving into the neighborhood.

Together, we’ll end this Advent journey where it all began:

in awe, around the manger,

with hearts made ready for the One who came close.

👉 Access Week 4: Holy Love in Rooted Minds »