The True Meaning of More

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

Luke 20:41-21:4

“Let’s be honest. No one ever wished for a smaller holiday gift.” At least that’s what the makers of Lexus automobiles say in their recent TV commercials. Maybe they know something I don’t, but I’ve got to believe they are wrong. According to Luke, of all the people who were contributing gifts to the temple in Jerusalem the one who Jesus pointed to as exemplary was a widow who gave only two copper coins. This was the greatest of all gifts, Jesus said, because she had given “all that she had to live on” (Luke 21:4). She could hardly have afforded a Lexus, but she gave all that she had anyway.

On the other hand, in 1 Thessalonians Paul writes, “…you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another…. But we urge you, beloved, to do so more and more…” (1 Thessalonians 4:9-10). And I’m quite certain that Paul is not talking about larger “holiday gifts”. He’s talking about the love of God, the love “that surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19), the love that is patient and kind, that bears all things, believes all things, and hopes all things (see 1 Corinthians 13:4-7). No, you can’t park it in the garage or cruise the neighborhood in it on Christmas morning, but it will make your life and the lives of those around you profoundly better. And when the Lexus has found its final resting place in the junk yard, the love of God will continue to sustain and encourage those who share it.

So what is the true meaning of “more”? In reign-of-God terms it means more of ourselves offered to others, and all of the heart, mind, soul, and body given to God. Let’s be honest. No car company could ever pull that off.

Prayer: Lord, help us to love you and to love each other more and more, this season of Advent and beyond. In Jesus’ name. Amen.