Again? Honestly, John was fixated on love. I feel like half the meditations I’ve done on 1 John were on love. And here we are, at 1 John 4:7-8, reading this: "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."
I get it already. God is love, God’s people love.
Except maybe that’s John’s point. After all this ink spent on the topic, when I think of how I act, I’m not a lot different. Maybe I really do need to be beat over the head with this.
Because it’s important, it’s a fundamental behavior that is the basis for a lot of other Christian acts. I need to get it through my thick skull, and then act that way: The defining characteristic of my life has to be love. Any other gift or talent or attribute I have only functions the way God means it to if I first have love. And not just love for God. John says here, “Let us love one another.”
So, here I come. Crabby church member who always complains about the music, I’m going to love you instead of blowing you off. Annoying salesman who commits me to something I can’t get done, I’m going to love you instead of getting frustrated. Loud neighbor who wakes me in the middle of the night, I’m going to love you instead of calling you an inconsiderate jerk.
I don’t know how I’m going to do that, but I will. I have to. If I can’t do that, I don’t even know who God is.
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