“In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” 1 John 5:2-5
This verse spoke SO much truth to me!
1. First, Loving God means keeping His commands. Usually I think of keeping God’s commands as something I am supposed to do or something I want to do, but not as something that defines my love for Him. And what is the greatest commandment? Jesus tells us Himself in Matthew 22: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (vs. 36-39). So the greatest commandment is loving God, love for God is defined as keeping his commands, and keeping His commands means loving Him with all our hearts souls and minds and loving others as ourselves. Sounds like a whole lot of love to me! Loving others- and truly loving them like Jesus loves me, is something I have been so convicted of lately. I have seen firsthand how much Jesus shines through people who have loved ME unconditionally, and I want so badly to do that for others! God did not send His son to die for us because we loved Him first, or because we deserved it, which are two huge conditions we put on loving others in society today.
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from 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.” 1 John 4:7-12
If we are not loving, we do not know God! GOD IS LOVE. He is so much love. If God is love, then by loving others, we SHOW THEM GOD. What can be more motivating than that to love? If we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us. The Bible tells us that over and over again! Ah That is SO AWESOME!
“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.” 1 John 4:19-21
“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.” 1 John 4:16-18
IN THIS WORLD WE ARE LIKE JESUS. Are we hearing that? Are we REALLY hearing that?! And are we living that?? We are supposed to be Jesus to this world! I know I say that all the time…but personally I cant hear it enough! It has hit me over and over again lately! That is what we should be striving to do!!! There is no fear in love, God is not out to punish us. Perfect love drives out fear, and God’s love for us is so perfect. How are we supposed to love? “”Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth” 1 John 3:18. Gosh so good…it’s so easy for me to tell x amount of people that I love them. And that is certainly encouraging and nice, but showing people love with actions and in truth is SO much deeper!!
“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” Colossians 4:5-6
Let’s live this out! Let’s show the world the LOVE that our Dad pours out on us every day!
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