Today, Wednesday August 18
“God Is Love”
1 John 4:7-11 “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 have 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.
At least two times in this passage John tells us that God is love (vs. 8 & 16). And for the third time in this epistle, we are considering the subject of love! This does not mean John has run out of ideas and has to repeat himself. It means that the Holy Spirit, who inspired John, presents the subject once more, from a deeper point of view.
First, love for the brethren has been shown as proof of fellowship with God (1 John 2:7-11); then it has been presented as proof of sonship (1 John 3:10-14). In the earlier passage, love for the brethren is a matter of light or darkness; in the second it is a matter of life or death.
But in 1 John 4:7-16, we get down to the very foundation of the matter. Here we discover why love is such an important part of the life that is real. Love is a valid test of our fellowship and our sonship because "God is love." Love is part of the very being and nature of God. If we are united to God through faith in Christ, we share His nature. And since His nature is love, love is the test of the reality of our spiritual life.
A navigator depends on a compass to help him determine his course. But why a compass? Because it shows him his directions. And why does the compass point north? Because it is so constituted that it responds to the magnetic field that is part of the earth's makeup. The compass is responsive to the nature of the earth.
So with Christian love. The nature of God is love. And a person who knows God and has been born of God will respond to God's nature. As a compass naturally points north, a believer will naturally practice love because love is the nature of God. This love will not be a forced response; it will be a natural response. A believer's love for the brethren will be proof of his sonship and fellowship.
Three times, in this section, John encourages us to love one another (1 John 4:7, 11-12). He supports these admonitions by giving us three foundational facts about God. We will look at these facts later. But today, we need to remember the devil’s biggest lie is to whisper in your ear and tell you God doesn’t love you and that you can’t trust Him. The greatest proof of God’s love is that He sent His Son to die for our sins.
Please believe and trust this God of love to be the Lord of your life today!
God bless!