7 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10 Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another.
The Apostle John gives us an amazing set of verses here. First off, we are to love one another. Ok, we can try and do that. But then John takes us through what love really means. And guess what, we can't do it. Love it from God, and not only that, but God is love. The way that God shows His love for us is that He makes a sacrifice. He doesn't just make a little sacrifice, like skipping TV for a week or cutting down on the sodas for a little while. (By the way, these are great things for us to "sacrifice" for a little while!). God makes the biggest sacrifice that He can make. He sends His Son, Jesus Christ, to come to earth and live with us - but wait, that is not all - and to die on our behalf.
God knew that we could never get out from under the weight of our sin. It's built into our nature. You could say that it's who we are. We are naturally separated from a Holy God. There is no latter to climb, no step to stand on, no tower that we can build that will get us close to this Holy God. The only way we get close is by having Jesus come down to us.
John reminds us that we did not love God, and that is why he made His sacrifice. No, God loved us. And because of God's love, we can truly love Him back. And it doesn't stop there. Because of God's love for us and the love that we can give back through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are to love people around us as well. "Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another." There is the command. We must....love one another.
Take a moment right now, put down what you are doing, pause the TV show, and decide what is that one act, that one thing, that you can do today to show love to your neighbor?
Do you have your idea? Good. Now let's go out and do it!
God is Love
1 John 4:7-11
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10 Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another.
The Apostle John gives us an amazing set of verses here. First off, we are to love one another. Ok, we can try and do that. But then John takes us through what love really means. And guess what, we can't do it. Love it from God, and not only that, but God is love. The way that God shows His love for us is that He makes a sacrifice. He doesn't just make a little sacrifice, like skipping TV for a week or cutting down on the sodas for a little while. (By the way, these are great things for us to "sacrifice" for a little while!). God makes the biggest sacrifice that He can make. He sends His Son, Jesus Christ, to come to earth and live with us - but wait, that is not all - and to die on our behalf.
God knew that we could never get out from under the weight of our sin. It's built into our nature. You could say that it's who we are. We are naturally separated from a Holy God. There is no latter to climb, no step to stand on, no tower that we can build that will get us close to this Holy God. The only way we get close is by having Jesus come down to us.
John reminds us that we did not love God, and that is why he made His sacrifice. No, God loved us. And because of God's love, we can truly love Him back. And it doesn't stop there. Because of God's love for us and the love that we can give back through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are to love people around us as well. "Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another." There is the command. We must....love one another.
Take a moment right now, put down what you are doing, pause the TV show, and decide what is that one act, that one thing, that you can do today to show love to your neighbor?
Do you have your idea? Good. Now let's go out and do it!