Meditations

Read I John 4

“No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God
lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”
(I John 4:12)

Thoughts… Ask a thousand different people for their concept of God and you will most likely get a thousand different depictions. But the Bible makes it plain that the chief expression of God is love. What does God look like? He looks like love.

Not the sloppy, squishy, anything goes kind of love our world knows. Not the ever-changing love that rises and falls with one’s current emotional state that far too many people today understand love to be. Not the selfish kind of love that loves to the degree that love is requited.

No—real love is an unconditional love; it is a sacrificial love; it is a proactive love; it is a love that seeks out unworthy objects. It is a holy and righteous love; it is a tough love; it is an unchanging love. It is that kind of love that is at the core of God’s nature. It is this love that is the essence of his being.

And though no one has ever seen God, he has made himself visible by the evidence of his love in this world. Wherever you see this kind of love, there, in a very real sense, you see evidence of God. Whether you see evidence of love in the wonder and majesty of nature or in the selflessness and sacrifice of humanity, there God has left his fingerprint of love.

But God is best seen in the lives of his redeemed ones as they live in loving community within the family of God. Whenever you see authentic fellowship, spiritual unity, self-sacrifice, forgiveness, serving—you are seeing love in action; you are seeing God.

When you see God’s people reaching out to a lost world, loving the unlovely, serving the poor, preaching the Good News to the lost, laying down their lives so that hostile people can see the Father, there you have God’s love on display; there you see God.

And God is especially visible when his love is on display in you. When you love with no thought of love in return; when you go out of your way to love; when you love in response to hurtful and hateful actions; when you suffer, but patiently love; when everyone else has give up but you stubbornly love anyway…

When that kind of love in action is displayed in you, there God is seen.

Prayer… Dear Father, I pray that your love will be on display in me today.

One More Thing… “Our love to Him is the proof and measure of what we know of His love to us.” —John Newton

Read I John 3

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called the children of God.
And that is what we are!”
(I John 3:1)

Thoughts… Imagine that—you are a beloved child of God. What incredible love the Father has lavished on you that he should make you his very own! You were once outside the family of God, with no hope and no future. You were an enemy of God, living in disobedience to his law, the deserving object of his righteous wrath because of your sinful nature. You were a mess.

But then, God in his love sent his one and only son, Jesus, to rescue you from the helplessness and hopelessness of your sinful condition. He took upon himself the wrath that you deserved, and he paid the full price for your pardon. He took your sin into his own body—he became sin for you—so that you could become righteous before God.

What love indeed!

Think about this: You received a full and unconditional pardon from the penalty of death, and thus, you are no longer an object of God’s just judgment. But there’s more; God’s love didn’t stop there. You were not only pardoned, you were adopted into God’s very own family. You who were once an enemy are now brought near to God’s heart and given a place in God’s kingdom. A permanent place was set for you at the King’s table and you were given a position of purpose in his eternal plan.

What love indeed!

All because of God’s love, you were made a child of God. What love the Father has bestowed upon one so undeserving as you. And now you are called his very own. That is who you are!

What love indeed!

Prayer… Father, I am your child. Nothing can change that. No one can take that away from me. What love indeed, that you should call me your own. And now, Father, what love I have for you, because you first loved me.

One More Thing… “To use the grace given is the certain way to obtain more grace. To use all the faith you have will bring an increase of faith.” —John Wesley