1 John 3:18 - The Completeness of Christian Character.
1 John 3:18 (GW) Dear children, we must show
love through actions that are sincere, not
through empty words.
INTRODUCTION
A Constant Inner Impulse. The completeness
of Christian character is attained when the
impulse to help and bless others springs constantly
from within. It is the atmosphere of this love
surrounding the soul of the believer that makes him a
savor of life unto life and enables God to bless
his work. AA551 [Remnant SB]
COMMENTARY PEARL
The completeness of Christian character
is attained when the impulse to help and bless
others springs constantly from within. It is the
atmosphere of this love surrounding the soul of the
believer that makes him a savor of life unto life and
enables God to bless his work.
Supreme love for God and unselfish love
for one another - this is the best gift that our
heavenly Father can bestow. This love is not an
impulse, but a divine principle, a permanent power.
The unconsecrated heart cannot originate or
produce it. Only in the heart where Jesus reigns is
it found. We love Him, because He first
loved us. In the heart renewed by divine grace,
love is the ruling principle of action. It
modifies the character, governs the impulses,
controls the passions, and ennobles the affections.
This love, cherished in the soul, sweetens the
life and sheds a refining influence on all
around. AA551
COMMENTARY
The Best Expression of Love Is Time
Its easy to go through life stressed
and overloaded. But getting your relationships
right is one significant way to reduce the stress
you feel. Yesterday we looked at one truth about
life and relationships: The best use of life is
love. Today well look at a second truth: The
best expression of love is time.
You may think that love is spelled
L-O-V-E. But a better way to spell love is this:
T-I-M-E. The Bible says in 1 John 3:18, We must
show love through actions that are sincere, not
through empty words (GW).
When you love someone, do you know what
gift you desire most from them? Their focused
attention. When I love you, I want to see your eyes. I
want to talk. I want to listen. I want to
commune. I want to fellowship. I want you! The
greatest gift you can give anyone is your time -
because your time is your life.
Time is your most precious commodity. You
only have a certain amount of it. God has already
decided the number of days you are going to live;
youre not going to get any more. You can always
get more money, but you cannot get more time.
When you give someone your time, you are giving
that person a portion of your life that you will
never get back. Thats why your time is the
greatest gift you can give.
Many people are in time-starved
relationships. They may live in the same home, but
theyre passing each other like ships in the night.
Even though they give a goodbye kiss here and
there, their relationship is shriveling. Its
drying up for lack of attention.
Many things can rob a relationship. Work
can rob a relationship. Activity can rob a
relationship. Too much church involvement or ministry can
rob a relationship. Even hobbies can rob a
relationship.
You may wonder, How can I find more
time for those I love? Start by turning off
the TV, unplugging the computer, and putting
down your phone! It's amazing to me that people
spend so much time in the virtual world while
neglecting the people right beside them.
If you want to revitalize a dying
relationship, a dying marriage, or a dying friendship,
start with investing more of yourself by giving
the gift of your time. [Daily Devotional by Rick
Warren: https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
The Best Time to Love Is Now
Weve been looking at the truths you
need to remember if you want to focus your life
and strengthen your relationships. Weve
learned that the best use of life is love and that
the best expression of love is time. The third
truth is this: The best time to love is now.
Proverbs 3:27-28 says, Whenever you
possibly can, do good to those who need it. Never
tell your neighbors to wait until tomorrow if you
can help them now (GNT).
Why is now the best time to express love?
Because you dont know how long youre going to
get the opportunity to show love. Circumstances
change. People die. Children grow up and leave home.
Youre not guaranteed tomorrow. If youre going
to express love, youd better do it now.
Charles Colson and George McGovern were
at opposite extremes in the political spectrum.
In fact, in the 1972 presidential campaign,
they worked on opposite sides. But they both
ended up with the same regret.
Colson wrote, As I think back on my
life, my biggest regret is not spending more time
with the kids. Making family your top priority
means going against the culture where materialism
and workaholism are rampant. It means realizing
you may not advance as fast in your career as
some do. It means being willing to accept a lower
standard of living, knowing that youre doing the
right thing for your children, giving them the
emotional security that they will draw on for the rest
of their lives.
McGovern wrote a book about his daughter
Terry, who died of alcoholism in 1994. After the
tragedy, McGovern poured over Terrys diaries and
discovered that he was not as good a father as he
thought hed been. While he was spending 18-hour
days fighting for political causes, Terry was at
home writing in her diary that she missed her
daddy but that he probably didnt miss her
because he probably didnt care about her.
McGovern wrote in his advice to parents, Show more
love to your kids by spending more time with
them, especially during the adolescent years"no
matter what it costs your career. That way neither
of you will have regrets.
Id give everything I have for one
more afternoon with Terry, just to tell her how
much I love her and have one more of those happy
times that we used to have all too
infrequently.
Friend, the question is not if youre
ever going to regret a frantic, overloaded,
stressed-to-the-limit lifestyle. The only question is when. When
its too late? After your family has fallen
apart? After your children are grown? Look around
at the people in your life. The time to love
them is now.
Thats worth repeating: The best time
to love is right now. How would your life
change if you lived out this truth each day? Taken
from Proverbs 3:27-28 (GNT) [Daily Devotional by
Rick Warren: https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
CLOSING THOUGHT
Love Is an Action
Love is more than attraction and more
than arousal. Its also more than
sentimentality, like so many pop songs suggest. By this
standard, is love dead when the emotion is gone? No,
not at all. Because love is an action; love is a
behavior.
Over and over again in the Bible, God
commands us to love each other. And you cant
command an emotion. If I told you, Be sad! you
couldnt be sad on cue. Just like an actor, you can
fake it, but youre not wired for your emotions
to change on command. You know that truth if
youve ever told a little kid, Be happy!
Im trying, daddy!
If love were just an emotion, God
couldnt command it. But love is something you do.
Yes, it can produce emotion, but love is an
action.
The Bible says, Let us stop just
saying we love each other; let us really show it by
our actions (1 John 3:18 NLT). We can talk a
good act: I love people. But do we really
love them? Do you really love them? Our love is
revealed in how we act toward them. [Daily Devotional
by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY
1 John 3:18 - The Completeness Of Christian
Character.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2023/20230302-0746.html
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
https://abible.com/links/
