1 John 4:7-21 - “Dear friends, let us love one another, for
love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows
God. Whoever does not love does not know
God, because God is love. 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. This is love:
not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning
sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to
love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives
in us and his love is made complete in us.
This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He
has given us of his Spirit. And we have
seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the
world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus
is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely
on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God
in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have
confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no
fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with
punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love
God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their
brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not
seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love
their brother and sister.”
There is a lot to notice in this passage. Love comes from God. Love is not possible
without God’s presence, so you know if love is present, God is present. You cannot know God without loving. Jesus is God showing us His love. We can only love because God loved
first. God’s love should cause us to
love each other. God lives in us as we
do that. God’s Spirit confirms God’s presence in us and helps us believe in Him
and testify to Jesus by the way we love. The opposite of love is not hate; it’s fear .
. . and love casts out fear. People who
talk about God in a way that elicits fear misrepresent God. You can’t love God and hate people. You love
God BY loving people. Woah! That’s just the things I noticed.
Question: What do you notice about love here?
Prayer: Jesus, Help
us love so that we might better know who you are. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray
for your neighbors around you by name.
Song: So Will I - Hillsong
United
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