God's love in you
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. 1 John 4:7-10
Once you receive the love of God, God commands you to love one another. The apostle John provided his readers a description of God’s love. God does not possess love but this is His nature; “God is love.” Apart from God, you won’t be able to love others. But once you receive God, His love is in you. John also gave a description of how much does God 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” (1 John 4:9). You experience the full measure of God’s love through Christ. You are commanded by God to continually manifest His love by the way you live and relate to others. The apostle Paul gave a wonderful description of love in what was known as the “Love Chapter” in 1 Corinthians 13. Each description of love in this chapter provides believers a clear image of what God’s love looks like. If you have known God’s love because you have received Him in your life, you are expected to manifest His love. God’s love is not based on affection or preference. God made a choice to love. “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8). You will not get a great appreciation of God’s love until you realize the magnitude of sin and the grace of God. You can grasp His atoning death on the cross only when you realize why His death is needed to pay for your sin. So if God lives in you, His character and attitude should influence you. Because of His grace you received, you will want to obey Him by loving and serving others. Always reflect on God’s love and let your understanding of it go deeper for in that way you will be transformed into the life characterized by His love. “God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them” (1 John 4:16).
Blessings,
