We have been talking all week about God's call to followers of Christ to love people. When we think about this call, we may often think that loving people is a result of obligation. We understand that loving people is what God calls us to do, and as a result, we do our best to obey. However, as we study Scripture, we quickly find that there is more to this call than obligation. Love for God is more than an obligation. It is a result of transformation in someone's life because of God's love.
John teaches about the impact Christ's love has on the lives of others. "God is love," he writes (verse 16). Think about that incredible truth for a moment. God Himself is love. He does not just show love. He is love. Not only this, but He pours out His love on all of us. He sent Jesus to die on the cross for us when we were lost in our sin. This love changes everything. It changes us. It compels us to love. In fact, "we love each other because He loved us first," John writes. God's love transforms us in such a profound way that we cannot help but show that love as well. If God is love, the more like Him we become, the more loving we will be. The more we know God and become like Him, the more naturally love will pour out of us to everyone we encounter. This is the truth behind a call. Yes, it is a commandment, but it is also a natural effect of experiencing God's love. He loved us first, and as a result, we love.
Have you experienced Christ's love? Maybe you have, but it has been so long that you have forgotten the wonder of the incredible truth that God loves you with a transforming love that changes everything. Maybe you need to remember today that He loves you. He loves you not because of anything or despite anything you have done. He simply loves you. The more you understand His love, the more you will naturally love others, whom He also loves, as well.
Revel in Christ's love for you today. He loves you simply because you are His creation. Linger in the verses from the Going Deeper section a little bit longer. Write about how much He loves you. Then, journal your answer to this question: How does Christ's love for you lead to a greater love you have for others? As God's love flows in and through you, make sure to celebrate with us this weekend at church.
Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.
But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.
Loving One Another
Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.
Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.
If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.
