“So 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.” 1 John 4:16 ESV
It is important to know that John is not saying in these verses that the way to abide in God and have Him abide in us is to confess that Jesus is the Christ and to abide in love. Rather, he is saying that if we do these things, it is evidence of God’s abiding in us and us in Him. When John says, “We have come to know and to believe,” he uses a verb tense (the Greek perfect) that means, “We have come to know and believe in the past with continuing results in the present and future.” Faith is not a blind leap in the dark. It is based on knowledge. John and the apostles came to know and believe God’s love for them in the person of Jesus Christ and His voluntary sacrifice on the cross. God is not only love. He also is holy and righteous. His love never negates any other of His attributes, nor do those attributes negate His love. The supreme demonstration of God’s love is the cross, where He gave His only begotten Son to die in the place of sinners. There love and justice met and both were satisfied. God’s love was demonstrated to us as sinners. God’s justice was satisfied when Christ paid the penalty that we deserved. By “abides in love,” means both, “abides in God’s love” and “abides in love for others.” We cannot separate the two: “If God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” If we have come to know and believe God’s love for us, then we are under obligation to be the channel of His love to others, including those who do not deserve it. Remember, we didn’t deserve it either!
PRAYER THOUGHT
Lord Jesus, I choose to abide in You, and let Your love touch others.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Lord Jesus, as I abide in You, on a daily basis, through power of Your Holy Spirit, Your love will flow through me into the lives of others. AMEN
I.B.R.A. Readings
Obadiah 1:1-9
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