“We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in him. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.” 1 John 4:16 (NLT)
This love John writes about is almost incomprehensible. It begins in God. He is the source of it. It is only through a relationship with him that we have it. It is only by maintaining this relationship that we remain in this love. And John connects this love to our loving one another (see vss. 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 who 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.
Then we remember . . . It isn’t John who commanded us to love one another. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” St. John 13:34 (KJV). 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 allow God to love our brothers and sisters through us. After all, it is a sign that we are truly in God and that God is truly in us.
Dear Father, thank you for loving us to the death. Empower us with your love. This I pray in the name of Jesus. AMEN
Be encouraged today by loving others,