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.
As I read these verses from 1 John 4 this morning, Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 came to mind. In it Shakespeare writes: “love is not love/Which alters when it alteration finds,” … “O no, it is an ever-fixèd mark/That looks on tempests and is never shaken….”
1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
The love John is speaking of in these verses is the same love as Shakespeare writes about–a love which accepts, a love which doesn’t seek to change, a love that is steadfast and is not shaken. This is the love God has for us and the love we are commanded to have for each other–deep and abiding, love that weathers the many, many storms of life.
1 John 4:9 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.
Precious Savior, Help me to love others as You love me–fiercely, steadfastly, unconditionally. We are called to love one another. Sometimes that is so difficult. Sometimes it’s so much easier to judge. Sometimes it seems wiser to walk away. Give us Your wisdom and guidance as we seek to love as You love. Amen.
1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Have a blessed day.