Advent Devotionals 2025

“Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel”

I love Christmas. Ever since I can remember, it has been my favorite time of year. The music, the decorations, the traditions, the food, the time with family, the Christmas movie marathons. But as I have gotten older, I realized that while those things make the Christmas season feel special, they are ephemeral and can quickly become distractions from the real reason for this holiday. 

One of my favorite Christmas hymns is the almost 1,000-year-old “O Come O Come Emmanuel.” For me, this song is a reminder of God’s promise and faithfulness, beseeching us to “Rejoice, rejoice,” for the King of Kings shall come to rescue us. 

“And ransom captive Israel 
That mourns in lonely exile here 
Until the Son of God appear”

Depending on your translation, the word love is used in the Bible over 500 times. This points us to the importance of this theme throughout the Scriptures. Our world today seems to be the antithesis of that reality. Overflowing with division and hatred, all you need to do is look at the headlines to realize our world lacks this pervasive kind of love. Fortunately for us, we have a loving God who knew this and sent and sacrificed His only Son for our broken, hurting world. 

This act is the climax of the greatest love story ever written.

In 1 John 4:9-10, it is written, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world... This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us..." As humans, we are unable to enact perfect love. However, from a deep and intimate relationship with God, our ability to love Him and others increases. 

God demonstrated His boundless and perfect love by sending His son into the world to redeem it. To redeem me. To redeem you. To redeem us with love that cannot be earned or fully reciprocated, yet is freely and graciously given. This simple, yet profound fact should transform us to love others in return. 

“O come, desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease
And be Thyself our King of peace.”

God also continually shows us this love in the ways He provides for us. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” The Lord has a plan for our lives and provides for us in ways that we cannot even fathom.

As a high school senior, looking forward to the next few years of my life, I have come to realize that no matter how hard I try to plan my next steps, nothing I do can change the plan God has for my life. His love for me surpasses understanding, and he has created me with purpose. I’m certain that it will be nothing like what I expect, but far, far better than anything I could ask or imagine. God’s love is bigger and greater than we can comprehend, and He holds our lives in his loving hands. 

All that to say, I still love Christmas. But not just for the music, movies, and traditions. I love Christmas for its very existence, and for the reminder that we have already received a greater gift than we could ever ask for. 

I invite you during this final week of Advent, in the midst of the chaos and the carols, to remember what this season is truly about. Remember that during this time, Jesus doesn't ask us to be busy. He doesn’t require us to get the most expensive gift or put up the most string lights. He simply wants us to be present. To bear witness to the humble birth of a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger under a clear night sky. To enter into the greatest love story of all time by accepting the gift we could never earn.

“O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high,
And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.”