‘Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 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. And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first. If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.’ 1 John 4:7-21(NLT)
‘When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. ‘ Romans 5:6-9(NLT)
We often allow non-Christian ideas to shape our vision for love, don’t we?
Romantic comedies, romance stories, and similar narratives give us plenty of false ideas, but the Bible lays out the truest example of perfect love.
1 John 4 gives us a picture of how God exemplified His love by giving His son to die for us. “The love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him”(1 John 4:9).
God sacrificed. He suffered for our sake, and now we can live through Him.
This sacrificial, selfless demonstration helps us see what true love looks like, and the greatest part is that because of His sacrificial love, we get to live through Him. In verse 8, John tells us that God is love, so knowing God allows us to know the truest form of love.
Notice the order of love in verse 10: “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” The greatest demonstration of love is that Christ loved us first. Paul highlights this even more in Romans 5:6-9 when he reminds us that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. We did not deserve the love and sacrifice of God, but He gave it to us anyway in a beautiful act of grace.
As you read the passages for today, seek to understand the perfect love of God. In difficult times, hold on to His love for you and look for ways that you can practice the sacrificial, humble love that He models for us.
from God Can Restore All Things (Even Your Marriage)