December 27, 2022

Scripture: 1 John 4:10-12 – “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

What it means

All 3 books of 1, 2 & 3 John were written, obviously, by the Apostle John, “The one whom Jesus loved”, and this first book has always been a favorite of mine…primarily because we used this 4th chapter in part of our wedding ceremony many years ago.  It is a great reminder that God’s great love for us is not dependent whatsoever on anything that we bring to the table, but on the simple fact that God loved us before we were even a glimmer in our parents’ eyes.  We should be overwhelmed by that simple and yet very profound fact, but we should be willing to take it one step further – by loving one another.

What it means to me

If any of you are looking for a good way of somehow making God’s love in us complete – this is the manual right here.  Number one, just accept the fact that the Creator of the Universe loves us with a love that we’ll never completely understand, and number two, be willing to love others – even if some of them give off the impression of being a bit unlovable.  Look again at verse 12: “if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

As we wind up 2022 and dive headlong into 2023, let’s make a pact as a church body: let’s love well this year. You already do, but let’s continue that trend and look for ways to extend that love even further to those who might not be aware that they are loved by anybody.  Let’s step up to the plate and hug somebody who the world might deem as unlovable…we all need to be loved, don’t we?

Love you, talk to you on Thursday!

In Christ,

Brian