Okay, I didn't think so.
2:7-11-- There is nothing greater than love...
- Light = Love
- God = Love
- Light = God
- Darkness = Hate
or God for that matter. Forget 1 Corithians 13, 1 John is where I go to learn about love. It's one of my favorite books in the Bible for that reason. Unlike 1 Corinthians 13 which has a great description of what love is, 1 John is less descriptive on what love is, and more like a manuel of 'how to' love.
To love our brothers in Christ, we are willing to sacrafice ourselves just as Christ did (3:9-12)
What might this entail?
- Time
- Energy
- Sleep
- Money
- Pride
- Self (think of priorities and dreams you have)
- Our walk with the Lord
To love God, we are to be obedient to his commandments, and being obedient to him, we'll find that it's not a burden. Why? Because we love him...
Wait what? We love him because we love him? Read on...
1. Christ is our advocate, who pleads our case before the Father. (2:1; 5:18)
How is this?
Because he laid down his life as a sin offering and we have accepted that as believers in Christ. (2:2-3; 3:23-24)
How does this take place...
We have the Spirit of God inside us who leads us to be like him (2:27-28; 4:9-13)
...........and what does it look like?
We look like Christ, not the world (3:7-8)
We love one another (4:7-8; 11-12;16; 20-21)
-----> Why?
Because love comes from God (4:7)
See, I know I don't naturally want to love God, but because of the spirit within me, after I excepted Christ as my Savior, the more I am aware of the fact that I need him, and in needing him I love him even more. I know that he saved me, and because of that, I am to be grateful and even desire to get know him. A person saves your life. Wouldn't you want to get to know them?
3. And there is no shame to be found when we do what he askes of us (2:28)
I don't know about you, but I have a cold heart. One that is stubborn and doesn't want to always do what God askes. Thing is I know just from reading 1 John, knowing his love and to what extent he showed it, I am to love as well. There's something to be said when believers in Christ actually follow through in what Jesus Christ preached. Let me tell you, even non-Christian people know what Jesus taught. They still see him as a person to be modeled after and someone who was somewhat of a philosopher and/or political rebel. I'm not saying he was or wasn't, but you have to admit he did advocate for what was right, even if he had to speak the painful truth to the most powerful people back in his day. They also know he said to love our neighbors, and to what extent are we Christians showing that to others today? Are we going to be headstrong to face the battles that are facing our society, let alone our world, or are we going to just sit and wait for Christ to come back? Recall verses like 2:21;28, 4:17, and 5:14. Can you imagen if Christ came back and you were ignoring your brothers and sisters in Christ, or even the ones who if they just heard the good news could be our spiritual siblings as well? When we really ponder the thought of Christ coming back, we might be somewhat concerned that we aren't doing what we are suppose to be doing with our lives.
Today as we go about our day, let's remember these lessons from 1 John, in loving our brothers and sisters. I think we can do a lot if we rely on God, remembering we are in fellowship with him through the power of the Holy Spirit with us, and thus we can love in this world and do amazing things in his name.
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