“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us.” – 1 John 4:7-12
God is the Author…the source…the “beginner” of our story. He started it long before we entered the picture and yet, He had us in His thoughts. We were already part of the plan. That’s right! The Bible tells us that He knew of you and planned on creating you from the beginning (Psalm 139:16). God is the initiator. He has always been ahead of us. The Bible says that He is the “first” and the “last” (Isaiah 44:6/Revelation 22:13). When it comes to our relationship with Him, He is the One who has made the first move. He knew us first…He loved us first…He chose us first. He made all of this possible.
The Apostle John reminds us of this Truth and what impact it should have on us. It is John who finishes out our journey through the Scriptures with his short letters and the Book of Revelation. This will take us up to our celebration of the resurrection of our Lord and the promise of His return.
In today’s Scripture, John addresses the issue of God’s love for us and the effect it should have on our walk with others. We have already talked about our story being integrated with the stories of those who have gone before, as well as, the stories of those around us presently. Therefore, we recognize that our story…the One story…is not just about us. This can sometimes be a temptation for us. We get so caught up in our own story that we become self-absorbed and end up treating the rest of the world poorly. John reminds us throughout this short letter that this is not the way we should live. In fact, John states that since God loved us…we should love one another. He even goes so far to say that,
“If anyone says, ‘I love God’, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” – 1 John 4:20
Wow. This is quite convicting for most of us. Once we come into the Kingdom and put our trust (faith) in the heavenly Father, we begin to enjoy the personal blessings of His forgiveness, His love and care for us, etc…it can become easy to neglect our relationships with the world around us. Critics of the Church identify this as “putting our head in the sand” or being “aloof” to the problems and needs of people in our society. Someone said, “Christians can be so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.”
Today, let us take this to heart and use the words of John to direct our thoughts. First, the good that is in us…the capacity to love comes from God. It is because God, through the sacrifice of Jesus has made it possible for you to do or be anything good. Second, because of that…the mercy…grace and love that we have received, we should pass that on to others who need it as well. If you have received love, you will be generous with your love. If you have received forgiveness, you will be one who freely forgives. This is the reality of genuine transformation! It is the center of your story. Your story makes an impact on the story of others and together they contribute to the ONE STORY! This is awesome! This is the love of our God! This is the life we are called to!
Today let your story impact another one’s story! Be a blessing!