Day 35: God is Love
1 John 4:8,16
In his letter to the Early Church, John addresses false teachings and issues that they were facing. These included things like denying Christ as the Son of God and people who claimed to know Christ but didn’t obey His commands. In addition, there were those who claimed to love God but had become indifferent to those in need—I wonder how this could have been? Yet, as I look around, I see how very real these issues are still today. Verse eight says, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” If we claim to love God, we must believe in Christ, obey His commands, and love others.
“God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 John 4:16). He first loved us and sent His Son to be the sacrifice for our sin while we didn’t yet love Him nor believe in Him. He, our Lord and Savior, is love. This should generate a response in us to run out into the world loving one another with servitude, knowing we are then abiding in God and He in us. This requires risk and doesn’t promise to be easy; it will come with challenges and maybe even pain. God is powerful, and His love casts out fear! Where we live, the enemy deceives many with lies that bind people in fear to evil spirits. They make offerings to appease them. May they find Jesus, who made the ultimate sacrifice for them!
Reflection Prayer
Dear Father, I’m thankful that You manifested Your love through Your Son who paid the price for my salvation, that I may have eternal life through Him. Through Him, I have freedom, confidence, and an example of what true love is. I humbly admit and am open to the change that is needed that I may be more like Christ. Help me, Holy Spirit, to perfect Your love in me. I pray that in my deeds and in truth, I can lovingly obey Your commands and love others as You do so that others may see You in my everyday life. Amen.
Week 5: The Love of God
The Beatles famously said, “All you need is love.” The reality is that this statement is truer than most realize, but our understanding of love is limited—it is often dependent and conditional. That is not the love that people need; instead, we need true love.
God’s love displayed in Scripture and experienced in our lives goes beyond the love we know and experience on a daily basis. 1 John 4:16 says, “God is love.” Love is who He is; it is His character. He came to this earth to display this perfect love, to show Himself, and to provide an opportunity for all of us to experience what we long for—love.
Consider Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
“All we need is love,” and the good news is that love is given to us in Jesus Christ.
— Jim Sappia