Good morning,
Praise the Lord for His tender mercies and loving kindness. One of the salient characteristics of our God, who is revealed in the Person Jesus Christ, is Love. In 1 John, we read that there is no fear in love, and perfect love casts out all fear. His Love is amazing. It frees us, it heals us, and it fills us.
C.S. Lewis suggested that God’s love for us is a much safer subject to consider than our love for others. In 1 John 4 it is declared that people born of God are able to love, because love comes from God. It doesn’t come naturally for us. We confuse attraction and emotion with love. Our deluded world thinks love is something that makes people feel good, a “many-splendored thing.” The world is filled with people who are self-centered rather than love-centered. True love is unconditional acceptance and sacrificial commitment. While we can define love, it’s not something that can be learned. We are only able to love through the work of Holy Spirit, Who lives in us. People you know may not read the Bible, but they look at us to see whether we show genuine love and compassion; they are checking out “the Gospel According to You.” “God is love”(vs 7 & 16). Everything God does is an expression of love. What God does may not be for our immediate good but it is always for our ultimate good. We are part of a love story written by the Author and Finisher of our faith. God loves the unlovable and the undeserving, and He pursues them until they stop running--then blesses them! His love compels us to love others. Love is God’s nature, and our new nature as Christians. We become what God is, and God is love! This does not mean that “love is God”, which is being in love with love, making love an idol. It is entirely possible to have sound biblical beliefs, yet show little love toward others. When we enter into a living relationship with a loving God we are transformed into loving people. The true follower of Christ both believes and loves. “There’s an infinite difference between real Christianity and mere ideology” (Kreeft). Faith without works of love is dead (James 2:26). God’s word may reach our heads, but it has to also reach our hearts, and then our feet. D. L. Moody said that “Bibles ought to be bound in shoe leather!” We are to go beyond sentiment, all the way to action. Sentiment is merely “feeling without responsibility” (Wiersbe). Love, however, is compassion with a plan. I John 4:9 is reminiscent of John 3:16. “This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him.” The Cross is the ultimate expression of God’s love, extending beyond the boundaries of eternity. The Cross has your name written on it by the Hand of Love. Other loves cannot explain the Cross. Jesus was the visible presence of God in the world, the unveiling of God’s heart. We now serve as His visible presence. We do so imperfectly, yet we are nonetheless His body. We are His arms to a world in need of an accepting embrace. No one who has come to the Cross and experienced God’s undeserved love can return to a life of selfishness. “This is love: not that we loved God but that He loved us” (10). No mere definition of love is adequate. We must go to the Source. Love originates with God, and is manifested in the coming of His Son. He initiates love; He doesn’t wait for us to love Him. He loved us, and loves us still, at our worst. We can love because “God lives in us” (12). Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. In Old Testament times, the presence of God dwelt in the Holy of Holies within the Jewish Temple. In the same way, God’s Spirit now dwells within all believers. Our inner life is empowered, which changes our outer life. There is no true believer who can remain a casual Christian when the Holy Spirit is living and active within. John refers to Jesus as “the Savior of the world” (14). The Romans regarded Caesar as their savior; today, in North Korea, the people treat Kim Jung Il like a god. But we are loyal to One whose authority transcends any and all human liberators. We are rescued from oppression and the penalty of sin. Jesus, Who is love incarnate, is the true Savior. “We love because He first loved us,” verse 19. Loving one another is an essential part of truly loving God (Marshall). This epistle, I John, tells what true faith looks like. The chapter closes by stating that the test of our love for God is in how we treat the people in our lives. Real love for God exists only when we also love others. We are so grateful and grounded in God’s love that our lives are transformed. We are healed inwardly, making love towards others the natural outgrowth of the love we have experienced. God’s love is complete when it is reproduced in us. God’s love generates our love. When we love, we show that we are living in the Light.
In His Amazing Love,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NeKnC4WXCs
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