Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first. If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.
1 John 4:7-21 NLT
V. 7-8 “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.”
How do we know if one is a child of God and knows God? The short answer is love (v.7). We all love something or someone, so presto! We’re in! Easy, right? If it’s so easy, why is it emphasized by being written twenty-eight times in fifteen verses (7-21)? Maybe it’s not as easy as we think.
How do we know if we really love God? Or others? What does love mean? Does your heart flutter when you go into your devotional time? Do you grin from ear to ear at the mention of Jesus? Is He all you can think about all day long? That’s how the world thinks of love. In the Greek, Scripture describes different kinds of love. Love described in this passage is agape love: selfless, unconditional, sacrificial love. This love can only come from God because He is love (v. 7, 8). God’s example of perfect, sacrificial love was sending His only Son Jesus, so that we could have eternal life (v. 9, 10; John 3:16).
We are each called to love Him (Matthew 22:37-38), and to love others the way He loves us. Through our demonstration of love for one another, people will catch a glimpse of God. By this they will know we are children of God. He sends us His Spirit to help us live out His love (v. 11-13). How can intentionally dwelling upon God’s love cast fear from your mind? How will you allow the Spirit to help you live out God’s sacrificial love today?
