Saturday 10 January 2009
- Bible Book:
- 1 John
"The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also." (4:21)
Background
No one can accuse John of not getting his message across. Attimes he seems like a broken record as he repeats the above versein many different ways throughout the letter. John certainly wouldhave made a good preacher as he obeys the old maxim:
- Tell people what you are going to tell them.
- Tell people.
- Tell people what you have just told them.
But how are we tolove? Different parts of the Bible offer various suggestions, butlook at what Paul writes in
John ends this passage by way of encouragement. To attempt tolove our brothers and sisters can lead to exhaustion, but we aregiven the strength of Christ in order to carry it out. God's lovefor us means that "his commandments are not burdensome".
To Ponder
Many newspapers print the 'Love is ...' cartoonby Kim Casali. On a single frame there is the phrase "Love is",followed by a definition or example of what love is, and anaccompanying drawing of a couple to
How can you and/or your church put into practicewhat 'love is ...'?
Think of times when you have given love tosomeone, only to receive greater in return. What might that tellyou about the love of God?