Because God is love

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 4:8 ESV

What a charge this verse is, if we fail to show love. If we don't love, we don't know God! If we claim to be a Christian that means we claim to know Jesus, if we claim to know Jesus, we claim to know God. Think about what Jesus said in John 14:7 “If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." We as Christians must love, because God is love.

Verses like this are cause for soul searching and self-examination. We have to ask ourselves if we are loving as God has loved us? Are we living Christ-like? Are we living what we have learned from Jesus?

Think of a police officer, they are taught to protect, serve and enforce the law. We would not expect or accept anything less in their conduct as a police officer. Their uniform tells us that they are to conduct themselves in a certain way. Do Christians wear uniforms? No not one made of cloth, but one that is made of love. When we present ourselves as Christians, we must be in uniform. We must be clothed in love.

As Christians we are claiming to know God. It must show in our conduct. If God is love, we are to be love because we are His.

So today, let's put on the uniform God has given us. Let's love as we have been loved. Let's show the world we know God.

© 2013 Leo J. Woodman

"Whoever loves is born of God"

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 1 john 4:7 ESV

Love one another video

John cuts right to the chase on this one when he says “whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” Simply put, if we “know” God we will love. Not a sappy kind of love, but a deep love like God has for us and is shown through Jesus. We need to have a Christ like love, because if we know the Son we know the Father.

We must look to Jesus for the example of how we are to love. Jesus loved everyone He came in contact with, pharisee, sadducee, prostitute, rich or poor it didn't matter to Him. He didn't agree with everything they did or were, but He loved them. When we read the gospel accounts we see Jesus reaching out to everyone around Him. No one was off limits to Him.

It was His mission to show God's love to the “world”. The world is full all sorts of people. He did show love for His people first, He went to the Jews first with His message. But, He didn't stop there He took His message to everyone and taught His disciples to do the same.

So today, let us start with our people first “the church” and move outward and bring the message of God's love to everyone. Let's resolve that no one is off limits for God's love. At some point in the past someone showed God's love to us and we have come to Him because of it. Let us go and do likewise. Let's show people we know God!

© 2013 Leo J. Woodman