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| Source: michaelberg.net |
There's a book in the New Testament that has made me squirm for the past twenty years.
It is a short book actually, tucked way in the back, just before you get to the book of Revelation.
The book is 1 John, a small epistle written by the beloved disciple late in his years here on Earth.
For the first time, I am doing an in-depth Bible study of all three letters written by John, and I am revisiting all those reasons why this book has made me uncomfortable (albeit, in all the best ways).
I think one of the uncomfortable truths that hits me square in the face is this simple message:
The way you love other people is in direct proportion to how you truly love God, no matter what you might say otherwise.
This truth is written in myriad ways throughout the letter, as John circles back to it over and over again:
- "Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness." 2:9
- "Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes." 2:10-11
- "By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness if not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother." 3:10
- "But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth." 3:17-18
- "If anyone says 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother." 4:19-21
John must have had folks like me in mind when he chose to repeat the same theme again and again, using different words and phrases, in such a short letter.
I think this is such a challenging portion of Scripture because I am one who takes biblical theology very seriously. I have grown up valuing Christian principles, creeds, and confessions. I study the word of God every day, and I see Jesus as the very anchor of my soul. I take pains to teach God's word and sound theology to my children. God’s word is woven into the bedrock of my marriage. And over the years, by God's grace, I have grown to take my own sin seriously--even those pesky and insidious ones like selfishness and pride.
And yet, when I get to 1 John, I am undone, every.single.time.
My air-tight theology unravels as I lose patience with my children and fail to love them well.
My oft-quoted Christian creeds are nullified when I ignore the needs of those less fortunate around me, both in my own community and abroad.
What John has to say is just not easy to live out. By both sins of omission and commission, I miss the mark of loving God on a daily basis, as I fail to love others well.
Ugh.
And yet, there is no need for despair, because this epistle mercifully gives us the map we need to run straight to the cure--God Himself, the initiator, and the very definition, of the love that we are called to possess and show to the world.
How can I love this way, dear God?, we find ourselves asking.
And here is the way, clearly spelled out for us:
- "we [can] love because God first loved us," John assures us in 4:19.
- "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God...because God is love." 4:7 (emphases mine)
- "And this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved if God so loved us, we also [can] love one another." 4:10-11 (emphasis mine)
Do you see, dear friend, that God is the initiator of this incredible love?
Can you see that He alone is its source?
This way of loving reminds me of the covenant God cut with Abraham (called Abram at the time), when he put Abram in a deep sleep and God's Spirit moved among the pieces of the cut animals. Unlike traditional covenants, where both parties fully participated, God assumed the lead as its sole initiator and keeper (see Genesis 15).
So does this take me off the hook, so to speak, in loving others well?
Of course not--this loving requires a daily, street-level, active participation! But it is an other-worldly kind of love, as I die to my flesh and seek His strength, not depending upon my own ill-perceived strength and will-power.
This way of loving is not a 50:50 proposition, as I seek to do my part and God does His. (In fact, it is not even a 99:1 proposition!). It involves taking a huge belly-flop into the only source of love, who enables me to love, as I abide in Him.
So let's review: what is John's message for us in this brief epistle?
If you say you love God, you will love others and live right. Period.
We will get to the "live right" piece in another post, dear friend. For now, will you come alongside me and consider the truth that the way we love other people is a direct reflection of our love for God, no matter what we might say or think to the contrary?
It's not an easy truth to grapple with, but I trust in so doing, we will be driven to our knees and will direct our gaze up to Him, as we seek the source--the very definition--of love, to help us love others well today!
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