God Loved, So We Love: Day 15
“By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19We love because he first loved us. 20If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” - 1st John 4:13-21
Believers abide. When we put our faith in Jesus for life and salvation, it is more than just a mere acknowledgment that Jesus exists. It is a life confession that Jesus is the living Son of God. In this we know that we abide in God, he has given us his Spirit as a seal upon our hearts, and we have come to know and believe in the love God has for us. We know that this love is more than simply an emotion. This love is the essence of who God is and this love is a person. The person of Jesus. This idea of abiding in love is about abiding in God himself. Living a life of pointing others to Christ, displaying God’s love through our actions, through our words, and lifestyle. It becomes our entire reality. To abide is to be in close communion with; meaning to abide in God and God in us, is a deeply connected communion that expands far past the likes of merely acknowledging that historically it was probable that Jesus existed.
By abiding in love, we can have confidence. Confidence on the day we stand before God in judgment. This confidence is not because we have done anything that has earned the favor of God, but rather because we stand with the imputed righteousness that God has given to us through sending Christ to stand in our place. This level of sacrificial love brings about it an unmatched confidence. A confidence that can only be embraced when we have come to fully know the love God has for us. Fear is cast aside in the presence of a loving God. We stand confidently before God because of that overwhelming love that overflows out of the abundance of who he is.
This love is not meant for us to stay the same. This love, when we begin to grasp its depths, compels us to transform. It compels us to live a life of gratitude and worship. This love frees us to love God back. In loving God with our whole lives, out of that place we also love others. John commands us in a prior verse to “Love one another.” Yet here John offers a stark reality, loving others is not just a commandment but it comes from the overflow of the true Christian life. Throughout his letter, John offers many litmus tests, confronting the idea “Are you truly one of God’s children?” This passage is no differnet. To say we abide in love, that we have come to know and believe in the love God has for us, and then to hate would make us a liar. When we truly consider, believe, and embrace the love God has for us, we will love those around us.
Takeaway: We are first loved by God, we then love God, and out of that place overflows a love for those around us.
