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.
—1 John 4:7-21

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Blackout Poetry: Love Strikes Back
By Jennifer Kane
(Original notes comparing John 3:16 and 1st John 3:16 as a parallel study)

Essence of love,

Sacrificial, God so loved the world,

He gave.

profound, Lay down our lives—

Imitate Christ

transformative

Practical love,

speaks

Genuine, sacrificial,

Love.

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Scripture: 1 John 4:7-21

At the heart of the Christian life is love—not a fleeting emotion, but a transformative, divine reality. God Himself is love, and His love was perfectly demonstrated through Jesus Christ, who came to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:9-10). This self-giving love not only reveals the depths of God’s mercy but also calls us into a life shaped by His example.

Our love for others begins with God. As 1 John 4:19 reminds us, “We love because He first loved us.” This foundational truth reminds us that love does not originate in us. It flows from God, who pours His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). Our ability to love—even when it is difficult—is a response to the immeasurable love God has shown us.

When we look at the cross, we see the ultimate expression of love: sacrificial, steadfast, and redemptive. Martin Luther put it well: “The love of God does not find, but creates, that which is pleasing to it.” God’s love changes us, enabling us to love the unlovable and forgive the unforgivable.

1 John 4:12 teaches that though we cannot see God, His presence is revealed when we love one another. Our acts of love—kindness, forgiveness, patience—make God’s invisible nature visible. Love is the evidence that we are His children, born of His Spirit and abiding in His truth.

This love is not simply a feeling; it is action. It is choosing to serve, encourage, and forgive, even when it costs us something. As Spurgeon exhorts, “Has anybody offended you? Seek reconciliation… God loved you and sent His Son. Go write according to that copy.” Just as God sought us in our sin, we are called to seek reconciliation and peace with others.

Loving others is not always easy, but it is necessary. John challenges us in verses 20-21: “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar.” Our love for God and our love for others are inseparable. When we love one another, we reflect the character of our Creator, and His love is made complete in us.

Who in your life is in need of love, forgiveness, or encouragement this week? How can you reflect the sacrificial love of Christ in your relationships?

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Father God, thank You for loving me first. Help me to reflect Your love in my words and actions. Teach me to love not just in word, but in deed, so that Your love may be made complete in me. Fill me with Your Spirit, so my life reveals Your presence to a world in need. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

December 14 2024