By Lou Clarke serving in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
‘This 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 4:10
There’s much to enjoy as Belgium prepares for Christmas. Loaves of cougnou are baked (a sweet brioche Christmas bread, topped with a small pink sugar model of baby Jesus!), children anticipate Saint Nicolas’ visit on 6 December, bearing slipper-fuls of chocolate and Speculoos biscuits, and nativity scenes are arranged in town squares.
Most people can get on board with baby Jesus in the manger; a small, swaddled infant is hardly threatening. But as followers of Jesus, we know that the reason for the cradle is the crucifixion. Jesus became a baby that he might one day lay his life down for us on a Roman cross. This is a more uncomfortable truth to the ears of our friends and neighbours, and often to my own proud heart, too.
The verse from 1 John shows us that it is God who defines and demonstrates love, and that ultimate love is unconditional: ‘This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us’. What a joy – and what a relief! And what did our loving Father God do in his great love? He ‘loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.’ We are forgiven, at peace with the Almighty God, because he initiated a rescue plan for us out of love. See the nativity cradle and remember the deep, sacrificial love which sent our Saviour. Look at the swaddling blankets and trust that every last drop of his just anger at our sin has been satisfied at the cross.
This is the love that Belgium, and the whole world needs to hear. Love that is deeper, grittier, messier than cougnou, Christmas markets and presents under the tree (or in the slipper). Join us in praying that Christians in Belgium who know what it is to be loved by God will be bold in sharing God’s love with the lost.