Summary: In today’s passage, God lives in believers and believers mutually abide in God. Perfect love drives out fear. We love because He first loved us. Anyone who loves God must love their brother and sister.
Focus Verse: 19 - We love because He first loved us.
Reflection:
God first loved us. God sent Jesus. God sent the Holy Spirit, who lives in believers and changes people to become more like Christ and can empower to testify about the love and salvation of the living God. We can love our neighbors and that will show others that we love God. We need to express and show our love by meeting the spiritual and physical needs of our neighbors as the Lord first loved us.
My father passed away almost 10 years ago and on his tombstone there are two short biblical verses including 1 John 4:19 – We love because He first loved us. The other verse is 1 John 4:8 … God is love. I believe my father was trying to encapsulate his 77 years on earth with these two verses and what his actions as a believer should have expressed to others on earth. And also to instruct others on what we should do with our lives on earth while we still have the chance. As, I have become a father of four and grown older I have come to appreciate what my father and mother have faced and done more and more. But it is not enough to just acknowledge it but to align our hearts and minds with our acts of faith. To put things into action with right motives and intentions and with love and righteousness. And with the new year, it is time to put new resolutions like daily quiet times and helping neighbors and addressing racial injustice into practice now.
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for sending Jesus and the Holy Spirit to us and for your love and grace and righteousness. Please allow us to show our love for You in our thoughts and actions. The world is broken and dark, but love is what can heal and shine light and provide all that is needed. Let us take action in 2021. In Your name, amen.
