1 John 4:9 (NIV) 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. 1 John 4:9 (MSG) This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. INTRODUCTION Love is evidence of salvation. If you are born of God through faith in Jesus Christ, you have His nature within (2 Pet. 1:4). Since "God is love" (vv. 8, 16), His children who have His nature should also manifest His love. The children should be like the Father! Our love for others makes God's love real and visible to them (v. 12) so we can better witness to them about Christ. It also makes God real and personal to us. Merely reading in the Bible about God's love is not enough. Seek to experience that love in your heart by sharing it with others. Just as truth is victorious over lies (vv. 1-6), love is victorious over fear (vv. 17-19). As you mature in your love for God, you realize that you have nothing to fear, for your Father has everything under control. You trust those you love, and faith and love will give victory over fear. [Chapter by Chapter Bible Commentary by Warren Wiersbe] Love explains: (1) why God creates - because he loves, he creates people to love; (2) why God cares - because he loves them, he cares for sinful people; (3) why we are free to choose - God wants a loving response from us; (4) why Christ died - his love for us caused him to offer a solution to the problem of sin; and (5) why we receive eternal life - God's love expresses itself to us forever. [Life Application SB] COMMENTARY PEARL God's Idea Someone called you a lost cause ... a failure ... insignificant. Don't listen to them. They don't know what they are talking about. A divine spark indwells you. When you say yes to God, he blows on that holy ember, and it begins to flame. It grows day by day within you. Are you perfect? No. But you are being made perfect. And he has a wild and inexplicable love for you. His love for you does not depend on you. You are God's idea. God's child. Created in God's image. You were conceived by God before you were conceived by your parents. You were loved in heaven before you were known on earth. You aren't an accident. You aren't defined by the number of pounds you weigh, followers you have, car you drive, or clothes you wear. You are being made into God's image. You are a diamond, a rose, and a jewel, purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ. In the eyes of God you are worth dying for. Would you let this truth find its way into your heart? [You Can Count On God by Max Lucado] COMMENTARY The Most Exalted Theme The plan of redemption, by which the merciful divine-human Redeemer rescued man from the thralldom of sin, is beyond the comprehension of men or of angels. It is indeed a mystery so surpassing, so grand, so sublime, that we can never hope fully to understand it. Christ's sacrifice for fallen man has no parallel. It is the most exalted, sacred theme on which we can meditate. Every heart that is enlightened by the grace of God is constrained to bow with inexpressible gratitude and adoration before the Redeemer for His infinite sacrifice. In His life Jesus of Nazareth differed from all other men ... He is the only true model of goodness and perfection. From the beginning of His ministry men began more clearly to comprehend the character of God ... Christ's mission on earth was to reveal to men that God was not a despot, but a heavenly Father, full of love and mercy for His children. He spoke of God by the endearing title of "My Father.".... In all the sufferings and afflictions of man there is an Eye to pity, a Heart to love. "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him" (Psalm 103:13). God's tenderest care is exercised over us. He pities us in our weakness and in our sorrow. We may be despondent, even despairing; the heavy clouds of affliction may be over us; but there is light ahead. Beyond the gloom is a sympathetic, compassionate Friend, One who does not willingly grieve or afflict the children of men. In the gracious blessings which our heavenly Father has bestowed upon us we may discern innumerable evidences of a love that is infinite, and a tender pity surpassing a mother's yearning sympathy for her wayward child. When we study the divine character in the light of the cross we see mercy, tenderness, and forgiveness blended with equity and justice. In the language of John we exclaim: "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God" (1 John 3:1). {HP 14} The Greatest Commandment This heart-cry of God is expressed throughout the Old Testament. The essence of the New Testament is the same. Quoting from Deuteronomy, Jesus said the greatest commandment in the law is: And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength (Mk 12:30). Everything depends on this! Everything in your Christian life, everything about knowing Him and experiencing Him, everything about knowing His will depends on the quality of your love relationship to God. If that is not right, nothing in your life will be right. Notice what God has to say about a love relationship: I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life. (De 30:19"20) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. (Jn 14:21) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. . . . [Nothing] shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Ro 8:35, 37, 39) By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (1Jn 3:16) In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. . . . We love Him because He first loved us. (1Jn 4:9"10, 19) Do you realize that the Lord does not just give you life"He is your life? He has drawn you to Himself. He sent His only Son to provide eternal life for you. Jesus laid down His life for you. You did not initiate a love relationship with God. He initiated a love relationship with you. In fact, God loved you before you came into the world. He began to demonstrate His love for you on the cross of Jesus. Because God has loved you, He wants you to love Him as well. The Scriptures above indicate some of the ways you can express your love for Him. You can choose life, listen to His voice, hold fast to Him, believe in His only Son, obey His commands and teachings, and be willing to lay down your life for your Christian brothers and sisters. When you do love God, He promises to respond with His blessings. You and your children will live under His blessings. By trusting in Jesus, you have eternal life. The Father will love you. God will come to make His home with you. He will make you more than a conqueror over all difficulties. You never will be separated from His love. What is the one thing God wants from you? He wants you to love Him with all your being. That is the greatest commandment. Your experiencing God depends on your having this relationship of love. A love relationship with God is more important than any other single factor in your life. [Experiencing God 15th Edition by Henry and Richard Blackaby re Mk. 12:30] The Authentic Christian Mark Francis Schaeffer describes various symbols that people have displayed over the centuries to identify themselves as Christians. We're well familiar with the wearing of a cross on our clothing or on a chain around our necks. We put the fish symbol on cars and notebooks. Yet, Schaeffer writes, there's a much better sign, the universal mark that Jesus himself instituted. The distinguishing mark of the Christian comes from Jesus' own command found in John 13:34-35: "I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples" (NLT). Why is love the ultimate identifying mark? Not only did Jesus command it, he said this would be the way people could tell whether a person is one of his disciples. The litmus test is love for one another. Schaeffer points out that although someone may be a Christian without obeying this command, not showing the love of Christ rejects the Lord's own description of a disciple's identity. "If you obey, you will wear the mark Christ gave," Schaeffer writes. He then expands the principle to include the other side of Jesus' teaching, as shown in the parable of the Good Samaritan: We are to love all persons, for all bear the image of God. So how does the world view the way Christians treat one another? Is the mark Jesus instituted most often in evidence? Or is its opposite more common? Research has shown that most young people view Christians as judgmental and lacking in love. Whatever the truth of their perceptions, we know what our marching orders are. Jesus commanded, "Love each other as I have loved you" (John 15:12, NIV). Lord Jesus, you know that sometimes I don't feel the love you command. Right now I open my emotions and my will to you. Please give me the love I lack and show me how I can demonstrate love to others this day. [The One Year Book of Encouragement by Harold Myra] Non-Christians frequently ask believers to prove God. You cant see Him, or touch Him, they may say. How can you know God exists? On the one hand, you and I might argue from history. Jesus lived. He died. And His resurrection is the most thoroughly attested event in the ancient world! Those events demonstrate Gods existence, and His active love. But theres an even better way to answer. God revealed Himself in the love Jesus showed in giving Himself for us. And God creates a Jesus kind of love in the hearts of those who know Him. Others can know that God is real by seeing Jesus kind of love expressed by Christians. Its sometimes possible to reason another person into faith. But it is usually easier to love them to a personal trust in Jesus. [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary] CLOSING THOUGHT Copycat Faith Ten cats were in a boat. One jumped out. How many were left? None. They were copycats. That's an old joke. The problem of being a copycat is nothing new. Nobody likes to be called a copycat, just like nobody wants to be copied. We want to be unique. We love to be creative with the way we look, the way we speak, and even the way we write. In school, its important to be unique in what we write, because if we copy somebody else's work we could get in trouble. The problem of plagiarism continues to increase in high schools and colleges. With so much information on the Internet, some students cut and paste their papers together instead of researching and writing things in their own words. Plagiarism is obviously wrong. But in recent years, a popular book asserted that Christianity was plagiarized. The book was made into a movie in which one of the characters said, "Nothing in Christianity is original." The book (and movie) claims all of Christianity's core beliefs were copied from other religions and myths. Instead of believing popular books and movies, we need to base our beliefs on hard evidence. Award-winning author and New Testament historian Michael Licona has studied the evidence. He speaks around the world and debates people who try to knock holes in Christianity. Licona has looked at the myths and religions, some of which started before Jesus came to earth. Writers have claimed the Persian god Mithras was born of a virgin; however, the myth says he was actually born from a rock. (Yes, a rock.) Solid scholarship conclusively shows that parallels between Christianity and other religions aren't accurate. Then there's the biggest difference between Christianity and other religions: Jesus Christ. First John 4:9 tells us, "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." Jesus is the first, and only, God to sacrifice himself for your sins and rise from the dead. The consensus among modern scholars - nearly universal - is that there were no dying and rising gods that preceded Christianity," Licona says. Don't be confused. Christianity isn't copied. Its core beliefs are original, unique, and true. [Case For Christ For Kids by Les Strobel] LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS TOPIC 2 Corinthians 5:14, 15 - Love & Living for Christ. http://www.abible.com/devotions/2005/20050527-0651.html YOUR COMMENTS If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or testimony on this passage of Scripture, either personal or otherwise, I would be interested in hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred Gibbs LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT Most Important Decision in Life: http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0 A Man without Equal by Bill Bright: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo Steps to Peace by Billy Graham: https://stepstopeace.org/ Seeking God Made Real: http://vimeo.com/31489782 Prayer Made Real: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: http://www.liftingupjesus.net/ Amazing Facts Bible Studies: http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx Voice of Prophecy Discover Bible Study Guides: https://www.voiceofprophecy.com/study/discover Glow Tract Video Bible Studies: http://www.bibleresearch.info/ LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of Adventist World Radio: https://www.awr.org/bible Panorama of Prophecy with Pastor Doug Batchelor: https://www.panoramaofprophecy.com/ Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW: https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657 Islam and Christianity in Prophecy, The Third and Final Conflict by Tim Roosenberg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHSJB-fuHLU&list=PLWhQIHGTHlkaGg5Cwe3NDzWtFX8vNSpsE