Let Us Love One Another
LET US LOVE ONE ANOTHER
1John4:7-21 Key verse: 7
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.”
A few years back, I heard thata computer virus known as “The Love Bug” spanned the world by e-mail, infecting millions of computers in less than 24 hours. It seems that even cautious people like software engineers could not resist opening a message titled, “I Love You.” Down deep, every person on earth is looking for love.‘Let us love one another.’ This is one of the main themes repeatedly emphasized throughout the book of 1 John. We Christians love one another because God is love. Today let us learn why we must love one another and what blessings we have when we love one another.
Part I: Let us love one another (7-13)
Can you imagine a person who has faith in God but does not love his brother in Christ? Something is wrong with faith that has no love. 1 Corinthians 13:2 says, “If I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”Do you know why the Pharisees were so legalistic? It was because they did notknow the love of God. If we criticize each other without the love of God, the church is an easy target for Satan. A fellowship can be divided and destroyed. St. John teaches us why we should love one another.
Look at verse 7. “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.”St. John repeatedly emphasizes “Let us love one another.”John was an apostle of love. His favorite words were “love one another.” Once,Mother Barry was asked to deliver a message. At that time, her leg was hurt. She even needed assistance to get to the podium. But when she stood at the podium, she repeatedly said, “Let us love one another” with a strong voice.
To the modern people, love is like “give and take.” “I love you. So you have to love me.” Like on Facebook, ‘if you friend me, I’ll friend you back.’ Does it mean we can demand love from others? No. In Greek, love is “agape,” unconditional love. Read verse 9; “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only son into the world that we might live through him.” God gave us His best to save us. Likewise, when we love someone, we give our best to that person, not leftover potatoes. We can give our time, our money, and even our life, because our God showed us what true love is.
But, by nature, Satan lives for himself. He kills and destroys others for his own sake, and despises others for his own glory. But God lowered Himself and became nothing to save sinners like us. True love is sacrificing oneself to save others. In verse 10, St. John defines ‘love’ saying, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” God’s love sent Jesus as an atoning sacrifice for our sins, even though we did not love God. Everyone has problems like finals or bills to pay. But the most fundamental problem is our sin. To solveour sin problem, God sacrificed His own Son. This is the holy love of God.
When we love one another, we must help others to repent oftheir sin and live before God to have eternal life. St. John also teaches us another aspect of God’s love. Read verse 19;“We love because he first loved us.” Here we learn that we must love others first. We all want others to be nice to us,right? We are happy when we are the center of others’ attention. We want others to understand us and forgive us. But ‘love is giving.’ We give our attention to others first. We pray for others first. We understand others first. There is a saying, “Put yourself in another’s shoes.” If we wear another’s shoes, we can understand them better. Think of others first: this is love.
God forgave us first because of His love for us. But we want others to understand and forgive us, even though we do not easily forgive others. It isso easy for us to say, “I will forgive him if he says ‘sorry’ first.” We do not like to say “I’m sorry” because of our pride. Even between a husband and a wife, simply saying, “I’m sorry” will solve a lot of problems. But because of pride, they do not ask forgiveness, but instead they waiteagerly to hear the words from their spouse. All husbands and wives should practice saying, “Honey! I’m sorry.” Love is asking forgiveness first. Love is forgiving others first.
God does not give up hope for us. He endures our weaknesses and shortcomings. Likewise, when we love one another, we must have hope for each other and persistently and patiently pray for each others’ weaknesses and shortcomings. Even though we are weak and sinful, God does not despise us. He loves us individually. Ephesians 4:2 says, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Here we learn that pride, selfishness, and self-centeredness are the enemy of godly love.
Why is ‘loving one another’ so important? Look at verse 8. “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” Here we can learn that ‘loving one another’ is a matter of knowing God. If we do not love one another, we do not know God. If we do not know God, we do not have the eternal life. You may live in a house all your life and not know your neighbors. But knowing God is really important. John 17:3 says, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ.”When we love one another, we can understand the love of God. When we understand the love of God, we can taste the true joy that comes from heaven.In verses 7-13, St. John teaches ‘three reasons’ why we should love one another.
First, we should love one another because God is love and love comes from God (7-8).What does ‘love comes from God’ mean? It means that God is the only source of true love. Those who love one another can do so because of love that comes from God. They know who God is. But those who do not love do not know God and do not belong to God. ‘God is love’ means that love is God’s nature. Verses 7-8 refer to God, the Father; verses 9-11 refer to God, the Son; verses 12-13 refer to God, the Spirit. When it says God is love, it means our Father is love; our Lord Jesus is love; and the Holy Spirit is love.
Second, we must love one another because God gave us His one and only Son to redeem our sins(9-11). Read verses 9-10. “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” It is an amazing thing that God sent Jesus to show us who God is, so that we may know God through Jesus and to help us live a meaningful and fruitful life. But above all, God let Jesus die on the cross like a sinner for us to live through Him.
You may ask what true love is. Is it someone bringing you a flower? Or someone getting a tattoo on their arm with your name on it, or taking you to an expensive dinner? Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” We did not love God. We did not know how to love. We did not have strength to love others due to our sinful nature. Yet, through Jesus, God demonstrated how to love others. The love is giving my life to others unconditionally. We are debtors in God’s love. We have received this love without any merit. Therefore, it is the right thing to give this love freely to others who do not know the love of God.
Third, we ought to love one another because God continuously works in us through our love (12-13). Read verse 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.”God’s love is revealed through the love of Christian fellowship. No one has ever seen God. But when we love one another, God is living in us, and His love is made known to us. In verse 13, we are able to know this through the work of the Holy Spirit. God lives in those who believe in Jesus to His everlasting love.
When Missionary Stanley Jones met Mahatma Gandhi in India, he asked a question: “How can Christianity make a stronger impact on your country?” Gandhi replied that three things would be required.First, Christians must begin to live more like Jesus. Second, the Christian faith should be presented without any corruption. Third, Christians should emphasize love, which is at the heart of the gospel. These insightful suggestions are the key to effective evangelism around the world. As messengers of God’s love, let us reflect a clear image of Jesus’ likeness, the truth of God, and love.
Part II: Perfect love drives out fear (14-21)
In verses 14-16, St. John explains how to have a fellowship of perfect love with God. When we confess that God has sent His Son to be the Savior, God lives in us and we in him. It is the greatest blessing that we can have fellowship with God. When God has created us, he wants to have a fellowship of love with us. But because of our disobedience, the relationship had been broken. Now, God has restored the relationship by sending Jesus. In Jesus, we can have this fellowship of love with God. In verses 17-21, St. John tells us ‘two blessings’ that the perfect love gives us.
First, ‘perfect love’ gives confidence on the Day of Judgment.Read verses 17-18;“In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the Day of Judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.” Preaching God’s judgment does not attract people, right? Who likes judgment? We would not stand before God’s judgment, simply because we do not like it. But Hebrews 9:27 clearly says, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.”
These days some people talk about the end time. But the Day of Judgment is in God’s time. God has never changed his will or his promises. But fear comes from our sins. No one knows our hearts, but we know our sins.We have a guilty conscience when we sin. However, when we love one another, we can have fellowship with God in perfect love. Then, all the fear in our heart will disappear. This is the miraculous work of love. There is fear in hate. But there is no fear in love. It is because perfect love drives out fear. We know that God loves us. Therefore, we can rely on His perfect love for us.
Second, ‘perfect love’ gives us strength to love one another.Read verse 19;“We love because He loved us first.”How can we love one another in this cold days? It is possible because God loved us first. In other words, if God did not first love us, we could not have the strength to love others. Read verse 20;“If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar.” He would say, “Thank you for saving my life through the precious blood of Jesus. I love you, Lord.” Yet, if he hates his brother, he is a liar. How can he love God whom he cannot see, while he cannot love his brother whom he has seen?
Our love to God is shown by our love to one another. Read verse 21; “And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”Jars of Clay covered a famous hymn with the refrain, “They'll know we are Christians by our love. They will know we are Christians by our love”Our love toward God can ‘not’ be separated from our love toward one another. Jesus also teaches us that all the Law and the Prophets hang on our love to God and our neighbors.In the past, I did not know what true love is. So I lived wandering life searching for the true love. Now God showed methe true love through Jesus. I have seen His love and thus I love Him. I can love others with this love of God. I grow in the knowledge of God’s love by loving others.
I can learn a lot about a person by what his or her T-shirt says. One girl’s T-shirt says, “Love Is for Losers.” Maybe she thought it was clever or perhaps she had been hurt by a relationship. Either way, is love for losers? The fact is, when we love, we take risks. People could hurt us, disappoint us, or even leave us. Love can lead to loss. However, today’s passage challenges us to higher ground—Mount Everest--in loving others. St. John describes what it means to live out God’s love. The person who exercises God’s love does not do so for personal benefit or gain but rather “hopes all things”to save others.
“Happy Mother’s Day” I believe mothers will occupy higher positions in God’s kingdom. Think about Moses, Samuel, Augustine, John Newton, and Wesley; their names may never have lighted the pages of history without the unconditional love of godly mothers!Theprayers from our infant lips were but echoes from our mother’s heart. Can we fail to remember her night care when you were sick? A thousand men may build a city, but it takes a mother to make a home. Remember your mom’s love not only today but every day.
*Conclusion: Today we learned why we should love one another. Satan’s work is division, destruction, and death. God’s love, however, makes us one, builds us up, and gives us life. When we love one another with the love of God, we know true joy in our lives. When we love one another, we can have unity in His Spirit. Then, in that unity, the Spirit can do great work of God in and through us. God will give us victory over the work of Satan. Let us pray that we may love one another in the love of God. May God help DuPage UBF to show the life-saving love of God to those who are suffering under Satan!
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