1 John 4:7-11

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 1 John 4:7-11

God is love. What a wonderful promise and source of comfort these three short words give to followers of God. In these three words we are promised that God will never be anything but loving to His children. God Himself is love, has always been love, and always will be love.

Because of this great love, He made the ultimate sacrifice for us. He sacrificed His only Son, Jesus Christ. This sacrifice was made so that we could know Him... so that we could have eternal life. It's mind-boggling, isn't it? That someone would give up their only Son for me! For each one of us!

On top of that, the love He has for us is undeserved. What have we done to deserve such unconditional love? I certainly know that I haven't done anything deserving of that. I'm a human... a sinner. I can think of nothing that I have done or will do to make me worthy of God's love. But, yet, He still considers me worthy of His love. He still sent His Son and gave Him up to death for me. For us.

So, if God loves us so very much shouldn't we try to show the same type of love to the people we encounter each day? Our friends, family, co-workers, casual acquaintances, strangers we pass in the store? In verse 11, John says "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

If we are truly in fellowship with God, then we will display this love in our everyday lives. We will treat others with the kind of love that Jesus demonstrated toward us. The kind of love that says, "I will love you regardless of whether or not you love me. I will give of myself even if you do not give back. I will serve you, even if you are incapable of serving me. I will meet your needs as if they were my own."

As I've studied these verses I've considered the type of love that I display to my family, my friends, my co-workers. Is it always this selfless, giving kind of love? Sadly, no. Do I want it to be this kind of love? Oh, yes! Can I do it by myself? No... only thru fellowship with God will I be able to even come close.

My prayer today is that each one of us develops a stronger fellowship with God. A fellowship that will, in turn, grow to a sharing of God's love with our family, our friends, and simply, anyone we may encounter in our daily lives.