When you see John 3:16, do you fall into the same stance as I? The epitome of the entire mission of God: Love.

God so LOVED the world (the entire thing: you, me, creatures, and the rest) that He gave His ONE and ONLY SON, that whoever believes in HIM, shall not perish but have ETERNAL life NIV (emphasis mine)

That’s love. God breathed His breath of life into man, hence creating man in His very image, relating to humankind. He later humbles himself to relate further to us and dies for humanity to have life. THIS. IS. LOVE.

1, 2, and 3 John are short, but to the point letters written by the Apostle John to put the definition of love on paper for us to have on hand throughout all of time. This is something visual and tangible, a head knowledge of the Lord’s faithfulness. We are to take these words and apply them, hence creating heart knowledge. Heart knowledge can be a grand tool. Written words are great proof, but compassion and relatable hearts can bring the Gospel further into life.

1 John 3:1-2 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.  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.

We often talk a big game as Christians about love. Love people and not their sins. Love people despite their sins. Love your neighbor as yourself. Love is love is love is love. We are to walk in love, talk in love, love in love and serve in love. I agree, but why do we do this? How do we define love and go about spreading it despite other commands, statutes, and convictions of the Spirit?

Looking to our first love, we may be able to understand where to start. We need to understand why we love God.

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:10

This is where this feeling, this motivation, this command comes from. The Lord loves us, now. He didn’t love us only in the past and He doesn’t love us in a conditional way. He loves us right here and right now. He died on a tree to demonstrate the immensity of what we so often just toss aside, true and utter love.  After this, we should grasp this gift and run with it. Share it. Give it away. Dive in deep. Shine the light. When we share as an outpouring of the truest love, we not only glorify the Lord, we become an example of a life worth living.

The Lord will shine through us.

This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.  If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.  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. vs. 13-16

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