More so than perhaps any of the other advent themes, love is easily misunderstood. We often think of love in purely sentimental terms, thinking it means being happy or being nice. The Bible affirms that sending Jesus into the world was an act of perfect love. Jesus loved people, and yet he didn’t try to always be nice to people. Sometimes, he pushed people to consider what they really believed if they really wanted to follow him. Sometimes, he got them to admit their mistakes to see how much they needed God. Throughout his ministry, he maintained that the key to finding God was not to “follow your heart” but to follow him and obey his teachings.