1 John 4:7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
Have you ever given up on loving someone? Loving in this context is not limited to only boy-girl relationship, but is about the love that God often reminded us in the Bible to display to others. I have, in fact, very often even harboured feelings of resentment, impatience, and simply giving up on loving those around me.
1 John 4:8 rebuked me. Here I am, reading the Bible daily (obediently or faithfully, only God knows) and the Bible is telling me that if I do not love, I do not know God. In other words, I may have extensive and impressive knowledge in theology (which I don't), but all God wants from me, first and foremost, is to love. As Jesus has said, "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." (John 13:34).
It is easy to convince myself to display universal unconditional love when I am sitting alone here at my study desk. The moment I step out into the "real" world, things get tough -- be it when I am driving (stuck in the jam), working (been backstabbed by colleagues and had a disagreement with superior), eating (served by rude and inefficient waiters), watching a movie (loud aunty sitting in front and ADD kids behind) or even worshipping in church (offended by that lady who said that my make up looked like being punched in the eye).
Yes, it's not easy, but this is our Lord's command. I may not be able to keep to it perfectly, but I must strive to follow it. I must always remind myself that I have not seen God, but I've seen His believers. They are part of how I have felt His love: the love which have been made complete in His believers.
1 John 4:8 rebuked me. Here I am, reading the Bible daily (obediently or faithfully, only God knows) and the Bible is telling me that if I do not love, I do not know God. In other words, I may have extensive and impressive knowledge in theology (which I don't), but all God wants from me, first and foremost, is to love. As Jesus has said, "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." (John 13:34).
It is easy to convince myself to display universal unconditional love when I am sitting alone here at my study desk. The moment I step out into the "real" world, things get tough -- be it when I am driving (stuck in the jam), working (been backstabbed by colleagues and had a disagreement with superior), eating (served by rude and inefficient waiters), watching a movie (loud aunty sitting in front and ADD kids behind) or even worshipping in church (offended by that lady who said that my make up looked like being punched in the eye).
Yes, it's not easy, but this is our Lord's command. I may not be able to keep to it perfectly, but I must strive to follow it. I must always remind myself that I have not seen God, but I've seen His believers. They are part of how I have felt His love: the love which have been made complete in His believers.
1 John 4:12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
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