“And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” (1John 4:16 NKJV)
Love! The love “God has for us.” He is the source of this love. It is almost incomprehensible to us. It is only by maintaining our relationship with him that we remain in his love. And John connects this love to our loving one another (read verses 7-21). He virtually insists that our love for one another is evidence of whether we have a true relationship with God.
It is so easy to love God. After all, He loved us first and gave his son to be our Savior. The Cross of Calvary is clear evidence that he loved us first. It is easy to love someone who has sacrificed himself for us.
The challenge, however, is the “one another” among us. We enjoy those who are like us. We even like those who are likeable and lovable. We are tempted to ignore John’s teaching, however, when it forces us to consider our attitudes toward those among us who rub us the wrong way. The obnoxious ones. The contrary ones. The grubby ones. The snooty ones. The ignorant ones. Oh, we all know who they are.
Suddenly our memory stirs and whirs. It isn’t John who commanded us to love one another. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another” St. John 13:34 (NKJV). He also repeated this command two more times to the twelve (St. John 15:12 & 17). I believe he meant it, don’t you?
Perhaps we need to stop making excuses and truly love our brothers and sisters in Christ. After all, our mutual love is a sign that we are truly in God and that God is truly in us.
Dear Father, I praise you for the love you expressed at Calvary. Forgive us our failure to truly love our Christian siblings, as you have loved us. O Lord, empower us to constantly live this love. I pray this in the name of Jesus. AMEN
Be encouraged today and abide in God’s love,