7 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. 9 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. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.Reading it definitely caused me to stop and think, in fact it raised a lot of thoughts and questions....so WARNING: Possible stream of consciousness coming.
Look at verse 7 and notice that is says that EVERYONE who loves is born of God and knows God. Anyone who loves, and I don't know anyone who has never loved, is from God and knows God. We all have something inside of us connected to God. For some, that may draw us to God and for some that may be an ignored or not understood part of our being. But consider, if everyone is born of God (or comes from God), that everyone should be treated and revered as God's creation. If you are trying to live as God asks and love, this verse does not allow for us to pick and choose which people we respect and treat with dignity, it tells us that all who love are of God. So where does hatred and condemnation come in???
In verse 8 we see, "God is love". If God is love, than each act of love is God revealed. SO God is revealed through another person's loving actions. The person may not always be loving and we may not always agree with the person, but at least part of the time, that person is revealing God to us. If you separate yourself from that person, you are separating yourself from the opportunity to have God revealed to you by that person...and consequently receiving less revelation of God. Is that what you want? Less God? At least most Christians claim they want more of God. So how do you accomplish experiencing more of God if you are spouting hatred and condemnation?
I love what verse 10 tells us. It says, :This is love." It is getting ready to hear what love is, but it starts by telling us what it isn't. It isn't that we love God. Why isn't it? Well, our ability to love is flawed. Point in case, we say things which condemn and express hatred for others. Our love is tainted and impure. So what is love? Love is that God loves us. Here we are, impure and sinful, but God gives up Jesus to be sacrificed so that we may be seen as pure. Love is something pure and holy. What we express is a shadow of love because it is not fully pure. What God expresses is love, pure and holy, and the example of love we strive for.
Verse 11 encourages us to follow God's example of love. If we are receiving pure and holy love from God, we need to try to reflect that out to people. This is not done through hatred and condemnation but through encouragement, discipline, and acceptance of people. This does not mean you like or love everything about a person, sometimes they disappoint you, or reject you, or hurt you, but we need to respond in love. Sometimes people disappoint, reject and hurt God too. God so loved that god sent Jesus to die for us that we might be forgiven and seen as pure and holy.
Judgement is for God, for God has full and complete understanding, only God is worthy to judge and we need to leave that to God. Instead of hatred we need to speak and act in love. Instead of condemning, we need to reach out and accept people and let God worry about the rest.
So my response? LOVE. In love if I have access to the people speaking out in hatred and condemnation I can point out that there words aren't loving. I can make sure I am not passing on these statements, thereby growing the problem, and I can speak words of love and encouragement into these situations.
Will you join me in walking in love?
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