Love Came Down: The Father’s Christmas Sacrifice

When Love Came Down: The Missing Figure in Our Christmas Story

When we think of Christmas, familiar images fill our minds. Shepherds in the field gazing up at angels. Mary and Joseph in a barn surrounded by animals. Wise men following a star. The baby in the manger. These are the scenes we paint, the stories we tell, the characters we remember.

But there is Someone who doesn’t always come to mind—God the Father. We celebrate the Son who came, but we often overlook the Father who sent Him. We marvel at the incarnation, but we rarely pause to consider what it cost the One who orchestrated it. Yet the Christmas story isn’t complete without understanding the Father’s perspective. Love came down because the Father let Him go.

What the Father Gave Up

God the Father sent His only Son to earth for us. Not an angel. Not a prophet. Not a created being. His only begotten Son—the one who had been with Him from eternity past in perfect harmony with each other, the only one of His kind, loved beyond measure, holy and glorious (John 17:5). The Son who shared the Father’s throne, who dwelt in His immediate presence, who enjoyed unbroken fellowship that we can barely imagine.

When love came down at Christmas, the Father watched His Son born as a frail human on earth. He saw Him take His first breath in a stable, vulnerable and dependent like every infant. He watched Him grow through childhood, learning to walk and talk. He observed Him serve others, healing and teaching and pouring Himself out. He saw Him be mistreated, mocked, rejected, and misunderstood. And ultimately, He watched Him be crucified for nothing else but preaching God and His salvation (Isaiah 53:10).

This wasn’t a distant God casually sending someone else to fix a problem. This was a Father giving up His beloved Son, knowing full well what awaited Him. Every moment of Jesus’ life, from manger to cross, the Father was watching. Every rejection Jesus faced, the Father felt. Every wound inflicted on the Son pierced the Father’s heart. When love came down, it cost the Father everything He treasured most.

The Reason Behind the Gift

But why? Why did God do this? Why would the Father send His Son into such suffering? Why would He allow such horrific treatment of the One He loved perfectly?

Because of His faithful, eternal, compassionate love for us (Jeremiah 31:3). That’s the stunning answer John gives us. The Father saw us dying in our sins, enslaved and unable to save ourselves (Romans 6:23). He saw humanity’s desperate condition—separated from Him, bound for judgment, without hope. And despite knowing we would often grieve Him by our rebellious sins, despite understanding how little we deserved His intervention, He loved us so deeply that He gave up the One He loved more than anything to save all of us so we might live (John 3:16).

Think about what this means. The Father didn’t give up something He could replace. He didn’t sacrifice something secondary or inconsequential. He gave His only Son—the most precious relationship in existence, the most valuable treasure in heaven. And He did it for people who were at enmity with Him, who had rebelled against Him, who would continue to sin even after being saved (Romans 5:8).

This is love came down: not reluctant obligation, not divine duty, but passionate, personal, sacrificial love that held nothing back. The Father understood that only through the blood and sacrifice of His Son could we be redeemed and considered righteous in His holy eyes (Hebrews 9:22). There was no other way. And because He loved us, He was willing to pay that price—even when it meant watching His Son suffer and die.

He First Loved Us

Here’s the truth that changes everything: “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son.” We didn’t initiate this. We didn’t earn it. We didn’t do anything to make ourselves worthy of such sacrifice. He first loved us (1 John 4:19). Before we ever thought of Him, He was thinking of us. Before we ever reached for Him, He was reaching for us. Before we ever cared about Him, He cared so deeply for us that He set in motion the most costly rescue mission in history.

When love came down at Christmas, it was the Father’s love—active, intentional, sacrificial love that wouldn’t let us go. He saw our condition and refused to leave us there. He knew the cost and paid it willingly. He understood we couldn’t save ourselves, so He sent the only One who could (Acts 4:12).

This is why Christmas is more than a baby in a manger. It’s the visible manifestation of the Father’s invisible love. It’s proof that God didn’t just feel affection for us—He acted on it at the highest possible cost. When we look at Jesus, we’re seeing what the Father’s love looks like in human form. When we celebrate Christmas, we’re celebrating the moment when love came down because the Father let it go.

The Christmas Gift That Keeps Giving

The Father’s sacrifice at Christmas didn’t end with Jesus’ birth. It continued through His entire life and culminated at the cross. But it doesn’t end there either. The same sacrificial love that sent the Son to earth sustains us every day. The Father who gave up His Son for our salvation continues to give us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).

When you feel unloved, remember: love came down from the Father’s heart to yours. When you doubt God cares, remember: He proved His love by sacrificing what He valued most. When you wonder if you matter, remember: the Father thought you were worth the life of His only Son. When you question whether God will provide for you, remember: “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).

This Christmas, as you celebrate the Son who came, don’t forget the Father who sent Him. Marvel not just at the manger but at the heart behind it. Worship not just the baby but the God who loved you so much that He gave His most precious treasure to purchase your redemption. Love came down because the Father decided you were worth it—worth the pain, worth the sacrifice, worth the cost.

He first loved us. And because of that first love, we can love Him in return, secure in the knowledge that we’re cherished by the God who held nothing back to save us.

Reflection Questions

1. How does thinking about the Father’s perspective on Christmas—watching His Son come to earth and ultimately die—change or deepen your understanding of God’s love for you?
2. What does it mean to you personally that God gave up His “only begotten Son”—the One He loved perfectly and treasured most—to save you?
3. The passage says “He first loved us”—we didn’t love Him first. How does understanding that you didn’t initiate or earn this love affect your relationship with God?
4. If the Father “did not spare His own Son” to save you, what areas of your life do you need to trust Him to provide for or work in?

Prayer

Consider the magnitude of what the Father gave up when love came down at Christmas. Thank Him for His sacrificial love that held nothing back to rescue you.

If this devotional encouraged you, please feel free to share with a friend or explore more in my Christmas Devotional Collection.