1 John 4:7-21
7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is perfected in us.
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. 15 God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. 16 So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. 17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Those who say, “I love God,” and hate a brother or sister are liars, for those who do not love a brother or sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.
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Does Christianity come alive when we recite our creeds? Does Christianity come alive when we follow the moral directives of Scripture? Does Christianity come alive when we do our spiritual disciplines? Not quite. If we construct our faith as nothing more than a conglomeration of beliefs and behaviors, then we render it meaningless. Christianity comes alive when we fully realize our God-given purpose, which is to love and to be loved. 1 John, a relatively short epistle, is famously, gloriously, and refreshingly uncomplicated. "God is love" (1 John 4:8).
Google fills it right in. Give it a try! "God is... love." Augustine wrote that if "God is love" were to be the only words in all of the Bible, then we should be perfectly content with them. I find myself quoting 1 John all the time, if only to use the word agape as much as possible. Greek has many words for our rather limiting English word "love," and agape describes the all-encompassing, self-sacrificing love of God. Agape isn't exclusive to God, however. "Those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them" (1 Jn. 4:16b). Christianity comes alive when we love without holding back. God is agape.
Going Forth Prayer: Lord, you are known in and through your love. Awaken us to your loving ways this Easter season and in all the seasons to come. Amen.
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Psalm 46 has been a source of comfort for generation. In the midst of the many changes life brings, God is ever our refuge and strength (Ps. 46:1). It's fitting, then, that Psalm 46 was the primary guiding passage of Scripture for our United Methodist church's postponed 2020 General Conference held April 23 - May 3. Special focus was gieven to verse 10: "be still, and know that I am God!" (Ps. 46:10). "Be still" is not a suggestion; it's a command. Snap to attention and recognize the majesty of our God!
Throughout our General Conference, I bore witness via livestream to fellow United Methodists of all backgrounds, genders, ages, ethnicities, races, sexual orientations, and perspectives come togther to be still before God. It was remarkable. Christ followers listened to one another, worked closely with one another, respected one another, and worshipped with one another. Psalm 46 includes a lot of creation imagery, including that of a river "whose streams make glad the city of God" (Ps. 46:4). Where will the stream of United Methodism lead? I believe our river will be one of continued growth, continued bold proclamation of the Gospel, and ocontinued discipleship for all people.
Going Forth Prayer: Lord God, we give you thanks for the means of grace we call holy conferencing. In unity, we are still before you, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
