Nuggets from the Book of 1st John
The book of 1st John is filled with countless good advice. John reminds us: to beware of false teachers, to remember that we have been forgiven, to remember that we know Jesus Christ, the Eternal One, to remember that we have overcome the evil one. He reminds us to resist the temptations of the world because its allure is temporal while the love of God is eternal. He reminds us that we have been anointed by the Holy Spirit and, because of that, we know the truth. He is our teacher and He will, if we allow Him, lead us into all truth, teach us all things, remind us of everything Jesus said while He walked this earth, and show us what is yet to come. I love every one of these truths. But I want to share with you my three favorite passages from the book of 1st John.
The first comes from 1 John 3:1-3(NIV): See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
This passage contains a truth that should transform our lives! The Father has lavished us with His great love. God doesn’t dispense His love with an eye dropper. He pours it out upon us by the barrelful. Why? Because we’re His kids and He’s crazy about us and He wants us to know Him better and love Him more with each passing day. Have you felt that love? Have you experienced it personally within you? Have you allowed that love to warm your heart and quiet your spirit? Have you embraced the title, child of God, as the greatest name we can ever own? Have you allowed that title to mark your identity? The world doesn’t recognize us as children of God because the world doesn’t recognize who God is. But Jesus knows we belong to God and when He returns, we shall be like Him. That is the promise we have received from Him. Let His love transform us daily, so we can live eternally in the presence of Christ and His life-changing love.
The second passage comes from 1 John 3:16-18: 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. 17 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? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
Jesus showed us what love is when He willingly gave up His life so that we could live. He loved His Father so much that He couldn’t let Him down. His love compelled Jesus to obey His Father’s commands even to death on a cross. It didn’t matter to Him that He was perfectly innocent and we were perfectly guilty. He loved His Father and He loved us and He understood that He was the only one who could set us free from the bondage of sin. So, He paid the price. If the love of Christ is within us, we should love like Him. We should help the needy around us out of the abundance with which God has blessed us. We shouldn’t need to be begged. We shouldn’t wonder whether we’ve really been called to love this way. We should know because we know Jesus. It’s easy to speak kind words and to tell people we love them. But are we living it out? Are we showing it in concrete acts of love? Are we helping people around us know the love of Christ, by giving His love away freely?
The third passage comes from 1 John 4:16: And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
Do you know that God is love? Have you experienced the amazing power of His love? Do you walk in the peace that surpasses all understanding because you are filled with His love? Have you come to love God so personally that you know you can rely on His love? Are you aware that God is absolutely dependable? Have you discovered the truth, “Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them?” Are you daily aware that you carry God within you?
These passages have had a tremendous effect in my life. They have changed the way I look at God and the way I look at myself. They have made me aware that we are to do more than confess that we know God, we are to live and love like we know Him. I pray these verses might have a similar effect in your life.
Wishing you a Spirit-filled autumn & a Christ-filled life,
Love in Christ,
Pastor Dave