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Each month seems to contain a holiday that sets the tone for that time of the year. January starts off with New Year’s Day and the traditional spoonful of black eyed peas, February contains Valentine’s Day that sends us to the store for chocolates and cards for our sweetheart, and March requires that we wear green to avoid painful pinching! February seemed an appropriate month to think about love a word that encompasses a wide range of feelings and emotions, depending on each person’s experiences and personalities. But God’s love is demonstrated and written about in the pages of his Word, the Bible. We are not left to guess how much God loves us or what He feels for us, his children. Let’s look together at a few passages that tell us exactly how much God loves us.
Our study will center on the passages found in the book of I John which was written by John, "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (John 13:23). He was also the author of the Gospel of John and Revelation, as well as being the first cousin of Jesus. John was a fisherman, a follower of Christ from the earliest days of his ministry, and one of Jesus’ inner groups of followers that included Peter and James. We have one of Jesus’ closest friends delivering the message in I John. Let’s see what we can learn from this letter.
Love is mentioned 43 times in the book of I John. This theme is especially highlighted in chapter 4, verses 7-21. Reading verses 7-16 tells us the source of that love:
"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. We know that we live in him and he in us, because 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 him and he 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 him."
If we love, we know God. God is love he is the source of love and the example we need to emulate. If we don’t love each other here on earth, we will not be able to love God whom we have not seen. Loving each other doesn’t necessarily include a warm, sentimental feeling, but a determination to want the best for each other and to treat each other as Christ would.
I Corinthians 13 is well known as a chapter in the Bible that speaks of love. The original Greek meaning for the word "love" indicates a selfless concern for the welfare of others that is not called forth by any quality of lovableness in the person loved, but is the product of a will to love in obedience to God’s command. It is like Christ’s love that was demonstrated when he chose to die on the cross so that we could be saved from our sins.
"Love is patient, Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." I Corinthians 13: 4-8, 13
Usually deciding what Christ would do or how Christ would act in a certain situation is not a difficult choice to make. Our conscience is given to us to help us in this way. If we don’t treat others the way Christ would treat them, hopefully a healthy dose of guilt from an active conscience will be our guide. We were not placed on earth without an example to follow; we can look at Christ’s life here on earth and follow his teachings. And in a world where so many things are uncertain, verse 16 tells us that we can "know and rely" on God’s love. What a tremendous promise!
Have you heard the phrase "No Fear"? Did you know it was biblical?! Look at I John 4:17:
"In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 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."
But whom do I have to love? Please read I John 4:19-21 with me:
"We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother."
And in case we want to risk being a liar, we had better know how God feels about those people;
"There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers. " Proverbs 6:16-19
Seems that it might be safer to train myself to want the best for those I come in contact with! Learning to love like Christ required effort, commitment and practice, but we are not left to do it on our own. If we ask, believing that God will answer our prayers, he will help us become better people. That way we can learn to love those we can see, which will make us better able to love God in whom we believe through faith.
Luke 6:27-36 also adds to these thoughts:
Jesus said, "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."
Please turn to the Gospel of John, chapter 14, verses 23-24. We are told what our love for God will move us to obey his teachings.
" Jesus replied, ‘If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me."
Those of us with children realize that it is not as hard for our children to obey us when we are standing near them. We know they really are obedient when we hear of them choosing to obey our instructions when they are away from us. Then we feel that they truly love us and respect us. It doesn’t seem a lot different in God’s case, except that He always can be with us and see us! Even Jesus obeyed God’s commands. Jesus said, "the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me." John 14:31
Having God and Christ choose to come and make their home with me is an awesome thought! We are capable of becoming a home for God with his help and guidance. (Maybe if we thought of God as being an ever-present member of our household, we would be more diligent in our task of loving each other.)
Hopefully we can say of each other what Paul wrote to the Christians at Thessalonica,
"We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." I Thessalonians 1:2-3
May God bless you this month as you continue to learn how to best love each other. We know that God will encourage us as we become the kind of people he wants us to be.
Happy reading!
 michelle
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