Showing Love
By Greg Johnson
February 14, 2007
http://www.LovingGodFellowship.org
1 John 4:7-11
How did you show your love today? With this being Valentine’s day, many gave and received gifts; chocolate, flowers, cards….
Some have difficulty showing love, but not those that have been born of God. They are the beloved. They have experienced the love of God and His love shows through them.
John wrote about this love under the unction of the Holy Spirit. (1 John 4:7-8 NIV) "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. {8} Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."
GOD SHOWED HIS LOVE.
John goes on and tells how God showed His love. (1 John 4:9-10 NIV) "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. {10} This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."
God showed us His love for us by sending Jesus. Jesus came into the world to show us how to live our life for God on our journey from earth to glory. His whole life on earth and how He lived it was an example to us. As we fix our eyes on Jesus and follow Him, we will complete a successful journey on earth and live for eternity around God’s throne.
Jesus’ journey led Him to the cross where God’s love for us was not only shown, but also completed. At the cross Jesus bore the wrath of God for our sins and took our punishment. At the cross, we were shown that God’s love is self sacrificing. God gave Himself for our sins so that we may have eternal life.
God initiated His love for us. He did not wait for us to love Him first. Jesus went to the cross and died for us while we were sinners and worthy of punishment. That means that God loved me when I was offensive to Him. He has shown me His love through Jesus Christ. The love of God has drawn me to the cross of Christ and given me the desire to take up my cross and follow him.
WE SHOW OUR LOVE.
God’s Word goes on and says (1 John 4:11 NIV) "Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." A person that is born of God will show God’s nature because God is within them. The Holy Spirit dwells within the believer and follower of Jesus. The one that is born of God will love as God loved. Their love will be self sacrificing, initiated and shown to all.
Jesus gave us the Great Commandment of loving God and others. He said (Matthew 22:37-39 NIV) {37} "’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ {38} This is the first and greatest commandment. {39} And the second is like it: ’Love your neighbor as yourself.’"
Our love for God is shown through our self sacrificing obedience to Him and His Word as we take up our cross, deny ourselves and follow Jesus. Our love for others is shown as we treat them as we would ourselves. We, like God, do not wait for them to initiate. We initiate our love toward them.
Beloved, you have experienced the love of God. That is why you are called “Beloved.” You are born of God! His Holy Spirit resides within you and shines through you! Show His love as He has shown His love toward you!
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