1 John 4:7-21 | 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. This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: 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 them and they 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 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. 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.
We love each other because [God] loved us first. -1 John 4:19
At church that morning, I sat in a chair closest to the exit door. I wrestled with pent-up anger, resentment, unforgiveness, and fear that had built up throughout my life and helped me keep people at a distance.
As soon as the preacher stopped talking and the music began, I rushed to pick up my children. Turning to my oldest son, I said, “Take your brother to get a donut and meet me by the car.” The last thing I wanted to do was talk to people.
This cycle of avoidance continued for months. As I listened to the sermons and began reading the Bible on my own, eventually I asked God to help me accept His love personally. Over time, my knowledge of God and my confidence in His intimate love for me grew. Now, I can barely contain my love for God and His people.
The apostle John describes this type of heart and mind transformation as a response to the ultimate display of God’s love for us (1 John 4:19). Jesus took the punishment we deserve because of our sins and gave His life for ours through His death on the cross (vv. 7–10).
Accepting the depth of God’s sacrificial love changes us (vv. 11–12) and gives us the ability to receive love and extend love toward others in the church and beyond (vv. 13–21).
Though we may struggle with feeling unlovable, God can lead us to accept and share His love.
Xochitl Dixon
When have you struggled with receiving God’s love for you? How can He help you better love others in healthy and holy ways?
Loving God, thank You for working in my heart and mind as You lead me to love You and others as selflessly as You love us.