Advent: Morality Tale or Love Story?

Perhaps what Christianity brings to your mind suggests that God is very difficult to please, and he expects a lot from us. The Bible, we think, might have some good moral advice about the good God expects us to do, but seems to offer us no help in accomplishing it. But is that all there is to it?  We might be surprised to find that instead of a morality tale about what we need to do for God, we find at the heart of Christianity a love story between God and his people, brought to its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.