Confident Love
This past week most of us have acknowledged the election of a new United States President. Our country is deeply divided and that division showed forth in the election results. It is vitally important to the healing and the preservation of our union, that the nation's leader demonstrates that he wants govern on behalf of all the people. Unfortunately the current occupant of the White House continues to show his lack of love for this country, by sowing division through his rhetoric and actions. When love is lacking, it is impossible to please God. That is the message from the apostle John in this week's lesson (1 John 3:11-24). May God bless you this week to love others as He loves you.
For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. 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. (1 John 3:11-15) Love for our brother has been required by God from the very beginning. It was because he did not live his brother that he murdered him and God condemned Cain. When we love, we move our hearts away from sin and death, and we enter into salvation and eternal life. Love for my brother is proof that I have salvation and eternal life!
By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. (1 John 3:16-18) The ultimate test of love for our brother and sister is the level of self sacrifice that we are willing submit to. Jesus sacrificed His life because of His love for us. And because love is an action word, it must be demonstrated by our actions. Real Love...you can't just talk about it, you've got to be about it!
And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. (1 John 3:19-24) If we are operating in love toward one another, we are keeping God's commandment and God is abiding in us. Then we can have confidence that what we ask in prayer aligns with what is pleasing to God and He will give it to us. God's grace commands us to have faith in Jesus and love for one another.
It is said that in the final stages of his life, that the apostle John was carried around by his disciples because of his frailty. And he simply repeated this message..."Little children, Love one another". When asked why he repeated this message so often, he said that if this alone was done, it would be sufficient. It was evidence of the seriousness and confidence he had in Jesus's commandment to His disciples. What would happen if we likewise took Jesus's commandment seriously and had confidence it could change things? Cain wouldn't have killed his brother; Slavery and human trafficking couldn't exist; It wouldn't be necessary to have to proclaim that Black Lives Matter; and so much more would cease to be a problem in our world. But even on a smaller scale, love for one another could heal our family divisions and many of the problems in our workplaces... or maybe... more people would be drawn to Christ if they saw that church members had love for one another.
