Revealing God's love

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. 1 John 4:11-12 NLT

John from the text, echoes the announcement that the Lord Jesus Christ made when He told Nicodemus the night he came to see Him, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 ESV). And this love of God was shown through the ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This is the supreme expression of God’s love to us. Paul was so grateful for God’s amazing love: “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15 ESV). So, the remembrance of God’s love should not be done instinctively or sentimentally, but spiritually where we live out God’s love by loving others. We have been commanded by God: “we surely ought to love each other.” We abide in God when we obey His command. “Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us” (1 John 3:24). As we grow deeper into the relationship we have with God, the more we realize we ought to love others. God did not just tell us that “He is love” but He had shown His love to us through His death on the cross. Since we trusted God by faith, we are not just the students of the Word or spectators watching what God is doing but we become participants for we ourselves reveal His love to others. So, when we say we love God, we should not ignore God’s command: “For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Galatians 5:14). When our love is genuine, we reveal God’s love at work in our lives. Our words are meaningless unless we give visible expression to them by showing our love to one another. We must see and love God through our fellow man. And once we love like Jesus, “God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us” (1 John 4:12). People cannot see God but they can see us and since we love God, we show His love when we love others.

Blessings,