1 John 4:12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.
We love because He first loved us! In the manner that we judge others is the measure that we will be judged. God help America. We are not called to judge the world but those who claim to be Christ followers but whose lives do not reflect God’s love for the world. John 3:16-17
1 John 4:17-21 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in 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, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us.
20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.
We are able to love because of God’s love. Let that sink in..this command comes from Jesus that he who loves God must love his neighbors. Who are our neighbors? Everyone. Remember the parable of the Good Samaritan? Who showed God’s love…the hated Samaritan, not the religious right. Carla
God’s love is made perfect, or complete, among believers when they reflect God’s loving character in their lives (1:5–7; 2:1–6, 28; 3:16–20). Love is not an abstract concept for John; it concerns the outworking of the believers’ faith in ordinary interactions with people.
John further explains why believers can be confident of God’s love on the day of judgment. God’s wrath is reserved for those who unrepentantly dishonor others with their apathy.
While believers may remain confident of their position on the day of judgment, they should also maintain serious reverence for God (Philippians 2:12; 1 Peter 2:17; Revelations 14:7).
God demonstrates this by offering salvation through Jesus.
A liar describes anyone who claims knowledge of God but fails to carry out His commandment to love fellow Christians and by extension other people in general (1 John 2:4; Matthew 22:39).
According to John, this person is a liar because it is impossible to love God without also demonstrating love to other believers. Doing so demonstrates an accurate understanding of the love of God (1 John 4:7–11). The believer’s responsibility to show Christ-like sacrificial love to other Christians is not optional; it is commanded by God as a way of displaying His love to the world (2:3–4, 7–8; 3:22–24; 5:2–3). Faithlife Study Bible
The mature expression of perfected love (verse12) produces confidence as a Christian anticipates Jesus’ judgment of the world. A person who abides in love will not be ashamed when Jesus returns (2:28; John 15:9–17).
A mature understanding of God’s love removes any fear of God’s judgment.
First John as a whole is clearly founded on the doctrine of the Trinity. From evidence throughout Scripture (Matthew 28:19), it is clear that God is both one and three. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit are one God, but they are also distinct Persons of the Godhead. Throughout his first epistle, John illustrates how each Person of the Godhead works with and through the others to accomplish God’s plan of salvation for us. The NKJV Study Bible
1 John 2:9–11
He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him…
Romans 8:15
For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
1 John 2:4–7
He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him…
1 John 3:14–17
We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him…
“Because whenever people come together to help either another person or another creature, something has happened, and everyone wants to know about it – because we all want to know that there’s a graciousness at the heart of creation.” Fred Rogers told Tom Junod.
I do love that phrase—“graciousness at the heart of creation”. I know what he means. The beauty of humanity, of doing good when we can, of loving our neighbors, of treating one another openhearted, with dignity and respect, welcoming and reconciling.
Here’s the deal: We easily forget that this graciousness is alive and well in each of us; for as Rogers so frequently pointed out, everybody was a child once.
I wonder why we forget. Why do we give way to our lesser selves—to small-mindedness and intolerance? I know that whenever our words demean, humiliate or shame, we cut off the oxygen of hope.
“The more we bump into the folks who are so-called ‘other,’ the more we are stretched and the more we are pulled out of bias. We have new truths, because we have tangible evidence of the beautiful, powerful creativity of our God who made all of this diversity for us to enjoy.” (Thank you, Jacqui Lewis). “Sabbath Moments”
"Our salvation in the time of trouble" (Isaiah 33:2). The Hebrew word for "salvation" here is yeshuah ... from which comes the name of Jesus Himself. He is our salvation! Isaiah was looking for more than just a pretty view. He was looking for the Messiah. And Isaiah could walk the treacherous path of this life because he had hope that one day his "eyes [would] behold the king in his beauty" (Isaiah 33:17), even if he had to wait until eternity.
In the meantime, facing a violent enemy, Isaiah prayed for God's mighty "arm" to save his people (Isaiah 33:2). He declared in faith, like the writer of Lamentations 3:23, that God's strength and mercies are new "every morning." And today we share this fervent belief that brings hope in dark times. When we are trudging through the treacherous terrain of hardship and weakness, our hope is in waiting, expecting, and searching for our King in His beauty, relying on His mighty arm to save us.
We long for the same King who Isaiah longed for. Our waiting, though, is different because now our King has come, and we await His triumphant return. Jesus is "our salvation in the time of trouble" (Isaiah 33:2), and because of His work, we have access to God's throne.There we "receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). First5
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