Such Love

1 John 4:18
Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his <God's> perfect love.
"Such love". What is that? The thought plagued me when I first read this verse. I wanted to do a short study on perfect love and yet it is the phrase "such love" that grabbed my attention.

Hmmmm...I guess I will read what is in front of 1John 4:18

Back in verse 9 it says: God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.

Most who will stumble onto this post probably now the story of Jesus Christ. It is an AWESOME story. Well, it is actually more history than merely story. Christ left heaven and all that meant to come to this sad planet. God desired to be reconciled with His creation. But we rejected Him. Killed Him. He came to us knowing what we would do. No fear stopped Him. Hmmmm...such love.

Verse 10 goes on to say: This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

So now I have perfect love, such love, and real love! Real love implies to me that there is such a thing as false love. Or at the very least, a love that does not measure up to God's love. So God had recorded for all time this description of real love for us. Not to tease us or make us feel inadequate. But to teach us.

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. Verse 11

We are not being instructed to merely love. We are being instructed to truly love!

Verse 12: No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

I LOVE this verse. I have never seen God. But that blindness does not mean He is not there! I have seen and experienced His love through others. A love that cannot be explained. I have been loved when I am at my worst. I didn't deserve it. It was freely given to me. AND then there is the "But if we love". WOW! Love is a choice we make. And when we love out of a love God gives us His love is brought to full expression! While I can't see God, I can see God working through others.

The back part of verse 16 and beginning of 17 says: God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect.

I may never be able to show perfect love in the sense that God does. But, when guided by God, my love can grow more perfect! I am deeply humbled by that thought. I hope you are too.

And then verse 19 explains a longtime mystery for me. Being in ministry, I have often wondered how I was able to love someone I had only met minutes earlier. Someone very different from me. Someone who technically is a stranger. Yet I LOVE them. Really love them. So much so that to this day I still think and pray for them even though we never met again. How can that be? Here is the answer: We love each other because he loved us first.

God loved me before I loved Him. He loves me still. But we are not done because verse 20 says: If someone says, “I love God,” but hates others, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?

So if you have met people who say they are "Christian" but you have not seen the behavior above...keep looking. Real Christians are out there. I've met them, I've been loved by them.

In conclusion verse 21 says: And He has given us this command: Those who love God must also love others.

The only thing I can add to that is AMEN!

Scandal

Scandalous and merciful love mingles with the unforced rhythms of grace and my soul sings out to God.

As I walk at a pace fast enough to improve my three mile walk time, I am suddenly slowed down by eternal thoughts. A soft breeze engulfs me and gently pushes the hair away from my eyes. I stop and breathe in deeply. I let the fresh morning air fill my lungs before slowly exhaling. I look up. Blue fills the sky as far as I can see. The warm sunshine feels good on my skin. I am, in the moment, content.

"Scandalous, merciful love". Those words from a devotion earlier in the week continue to marinate in my thoughts. God left heaven and came to the earth He created and the people He loved only to be rejected, hated, and killed. He endured death on a cross so we could have free access to heaven. Sometimes; no...OFTEN, the depth of His sacrifice escapes my understanding. As God, He could just demand our love. But then that wouldn't be love, would it.

"Unforced rhythms of grace". The first time a friend shared this phrase with me I must confess the meaning escaped me. I stumbled over it because of my need (some might say addiction) for control. It is a phrase I've had to take, put up on a shelf for a while and then dust it off and reconsider it. I am learning that God's grace is working all around me. All the time. Without exception. In my need to control I often miss seeing it. I am learning to "let go and let God". My responsibility is to respond when I sense God is prompting me. As I learn to live in that type of heart attitude I am seeing glimpses of heaven here on earth. In the midst of storms and challenges, in the calm of the night, yes God is always there.

May you experience God's scandalous and merciful love so deeply that you'll never be the same again.

May you unearth the secret to living in His unforced rhythms of grace.

And, as a result, may you be content in all life's circumstances.

Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)
"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take real rest. Walk with me and work with me -- watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."  -  God