Soon we will be reminded by Valentine’s Day of the focus on love in our lives and it is a good time to assess both our understanding and our practice of love. For Christians love reveals the Spirit of God.
I John 3:11 says “This is the message we have heard from the beginning; we should love one another.” Love then is not simply an occasional act we do but the way of life we live. In fact 1 John3:1 tells us our whole identity is wrapped up in BEING loving.”
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!..we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” John also defines God as love. 1 John 4:16 “ God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. Love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him….we love because he first loved us.
How do we learn to love? We look to God himself revealed in Jesus as our model of what perfect love looks like. Other models will fail us and fall short of the love necessary to make the world be all it was intended to be. Only as we absorb the love of God into our own spirits will we be empowered to live in God’s love now and forever. We can only even know what true love is as we are welcoming God’s Spirit in us. 1 John 3:16 “This is how we know what love is: Jesus laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. This is not merely theoretical but has practical and daily actions that show it.
1 John 3:16-20 NIV
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
We all know we fall short of being the fully caring, consistent lovers of our brothers and sisters and friends and neighbours that we ought to be. But even then, by faith, we know Jesus died to fill up what is lacking in our love by his own great love. As we reflect on how great his love is it enters our hearts and minds and takes hold of us and changes us to never give up but to take up the work of love until the work turns to joy and joy builds an everlasting community of God where his loving will is done on earth as in heaven.
Love is more than sentiment or wishful thinking. Love working from the innermost part of our being inevitably leads to concrete action.
I invite you to meditate on God’s full love who was committed to your growing in love so that in this season it may be the beginning of love in you that completes the fullness of love in and through you.