In The Greatest Gift, Anne Voskamp begins day two with these words:

I believe that the point Anne is making is that we cannot understand why we are here until we understand the Trinity. I’ll admit that understanding the concept of the Trinity is difficult. Erika did an entire series on the Trinity earlier this year. You can revisit the Christian Theology Essentials Series by clicking here. Yet, she and I agree that no matter what any human mind considers or what any theology teacher articulates, fully understanding the Trinity is impossible this side of eternity. However, God did give wisdom and understanding to scholars, thinkers and gifted teachers, so we would have some help in scratching the surface. After all, God desires to be known! 

Understanding the Eternal Love of the Trinity

In her book, Fix Your Eyes, Amy Gannett writes this in her chapter about the Trinity: 

Gannett put it in simpler terms when she said, “God did not create out of need but out of delight.” [3] Creating you was an expression of love. He sent his Son for the same reason: He loved you. The Lord made man, and was heart-broken when man sinned. After Adam and Eve rebelled against Him, the Lord said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil…” (Gen 3:22a) [4]. Can you sense the grief?

The act of sin cut off man from knowing Who God truly is. In His mercy, God said,

and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever, therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life. (Gen 3:22b-24)

Here’s a confession: I wrestled with the idea of God placing the cherubim in front of the tree. It wasn’t because I questioned God, but because I simply didn’t understand it. It wasn’t until I read Dracula by Bram Stoker, of all things, and listened to a podcast about the book that I was finally able to understand. God didn’t allow Adam or any man near the Tree of Life because if any one should eat of that fruit, man would have remained  in sin permanently, with no hope of rescue and no chance at a right relationship with God. In Dracula, the only rescue option for the vampire was for him to be released from the curse. In the case of humanity, we are only set free when the curse that arose as a consequence of sin is broken. 

So, what did God do instead? 

“When God wanted his creation to know exactly who He is, what He is like, and to make a way for them to be in the right relationship with Him again, He Himself came to earth–not just to speak the word about God, but to be the Word for His people (emphasis mine).” [5] Jesus coming to earth as The Rescuer was always God’s plan. It was always the way He chose to reveal His Love to His people. Mankind’s destruction resulted from Adam and Eve forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. God’s plan for salvation involved a different tree: the cross. God created us because He desired to love us; He chose to rescue us because of that same great love.

What Does It Look Like to Love God as a Christian Woman?

God’s rescue plan requires nothing from us. There is nothing we can, need, or should do to “pay him back” or “prove” our love for him. This reality might prompt you to ask, “How can I love God if I have nothing to offer?” 

Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15) Some might be tempted to believe that God created us to obey His rules. Giving into that temptation might result in a belief that God only created mankind to bow down and obey Him. However, just as Gannett explained, God created us as an out-pouring of His love. God doesn’t need us to obey His laws; obedience is the result of trusting God and responding to His love.

This passage in Deuteronomy is a great demonstration of the type of love God offers: 

This may seem like a “if you do what I say, I’ll protect you” contract. It’s not. In fact, it is so much more. These verses are riddled with love, warning, pleading, and demonstrate the heart of a Father Who was and is committed to protecting His children. God did not create robots who would love Him and obey Him without question. He created human beings with freewill. So, when God gave this warning to Israel, He gave them a choice to follow Him or to turn away and suffer the consequences that would arise without His protection. The first choice they had to make was to LOVE Him. 

Encouragement For Responding to God’s Love

Gannett says, ”When God saves us, he does more than simply bring us back under his rule; he welcomes us into the love and fellowship of the eternal Trinity.” [6] This love Gannett references is eternal because it always existed. There was never a time when it did not exist. She goes on to explain that, “he will fill us with the love the Father has for the Son. By the help of the Spirit and by our union with Christ, we have unrelenting aid in loving the Father back, in delighting in his nature, and in fixing our eyes on him.” [7] 

Whenever you struggle to love and obey the Lord, ask the Spirit to help you. He is named the Helper, after all. The Third Person of the Trinity was sent to help you and I because, on our own, we want to love and serve ourselves, not God. Father God made the laws for us to follow; the Son, Jesus, came as our Rescuer; and Holy Spirit lives within the believer as our Helper. All Three Persons do their jobs because God loves you, and His creation of each of us is simply an outpouring of an eternal existent love.

During this Advent week of love, let us remember who God is. God is love (1 John 4:8). Love is His entire make up. He would not be the Good Father, King of Kings, Wonderful Counselor, Glorious Creator without love. The Trinity would not be in perfect unity without love. You would not exist if God was not love. 

Be sure to cling to God’s love as you go about your week and into 2026. God’s love is what sustained the universe since the beginning of time, and His love will continue to sustain you and I into eternity. 

“May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.” (2 Thessalonians 3:5)

From the HRS Team and with Love, 

Mary 

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Sources 

1 Ann Voskamp , The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas (Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale Momentum, 2013), 12. 

2 Amy Gannett, Fix Your Eyes; How Our Study of God Shapes Our Worship to Him (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2021), 54.

3 Ibid., 56.

4 Genesis 3:22, New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995).

5 Gannett, Fix Your Eyes, 57.

6 Ibid., 60.

7 Ibid., 62.