Modeled after Jesus
Wednesday, February 12
Modeled after Jesus
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7
In today’s chapter John encourages, actually demands, that we love one another because God loves us. The Greek word used here for love is agape, which according to the Merriam Webster dictionary means ‘wide open’. It’s not the romantic love that sends big boxes of chocolate and writes mushy cards. This is the type of love manifested in caring for one another. John instructs his community to show these caring traits to one another. Wide open and without limits God loves us all.
Doesn’t this sound nice? Because God is love and because God loves us, we should love one another and be happy. It sounds too easy to be true, so simple we even contemplate if such love within a community is even attainable. The answer is yes. If we rely on the strength of God, then we can begin to see ourselves in those we interact with. We can see our family members, those who are near and dear to our hearts in those person in our community. We have to be powered by God’s spirit. After all, love is of God. And with God at the center, all things are possible. But that’s not because of our efforts or anything good that we have done. It’s all because one day we were exposed to the light (Jesus) and said yes to Him. That’s because of God’s presence.
John’s message is simple: God is love and God loves us. Because of God’s love for us we should love one another. And if we don’t love one another, we can’t really love God. Got that? It’s a simple message, but it has the potential to have a profound impact upon the world in which we live. The world is watching and it is up to those who have been exposed to the light (Jesus) to reflect what we have learned through knowing Him. It may seem like a small idea, loving others because God loves us, but an idea that has life-changing and world-changing consequences.