“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are… Beloved, we are God’s children, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure…
“No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
“We should love one another… We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers…
“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth…
“This is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God… God is love…
“By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit… We love because he first loved us… Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” 1 John 3:1-3,9-11,14,16-18,23; 4:7,11,13,19,21b
John, one whom Jesus loved, knew what it was to be transformed by love. This powerful force issuing from the Savior made him a child of God and planted in him a reality not before known. The proof of the Almighty’s affection on him was his reoriented life that served and obeyed Christ. (Mark 1:19-20; John 13:23; 19:25-27)
When we are loved and saved by God we are marked by that love forever. His abiding presence evokes new loves in us that issue forth in love for others that is not natural, but sacrificial. His love on us also instigates struggle against and hatred from world who rejects Christ’s love. Where the Lord is, the enemy resists or fights- there is no happy cohabitation. But there is no such thing as facile or static love in God’s economy. By faith, this tension prompts us to press on in obedience to His commands because He is the One we aim to please. What strength of love do we show? (1 John 2:15-17; 3:13; 1 John 5:2–4; 2 John 6)
What evidence do our interactions, work, and service give to the power of Christ’s love in us? How has His love softened our compassion, fortified resolve, sweetened the atmosphere of home and workplace? How might our attitudes, words, and actions among those we know better identify Him, and what will we do about it? What kind of love would we have the Lord newly develop in us, starting today?
Lord, may my life and loves be vibrant proof of Your gracious love for me, to Your glory and praise.
As the rain and snow 