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John enlightens his audience that God is the personification of Love for which anyone who is in God or a believer of Christ must demonstrate this love to all.

REFLECTION

The theme for our reflection today is ‘God is love’. John enlightens his audience that God is the personification of Love for which anyone in God or a believer of Christ must demonstrate this love to all. The simple question that comes to mind is how do we know that God is love? We find the answer in 1 John 4:9-10, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” In other words, God is love because He demonstrated His love to us through Jesus Christ. That is why John again said in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in His shall have eternal life.”

This love is certain and never fails so long as we live in Him and He lives in us. However, the only way God can live in us is if we continue to manifest the love that He has shown to us through Christ to others. In other words, God does not live in us, if our hearts are filled with pretence and hatred. Jesus in Matthew 5:43-45 elevates the standard higher by extending God’s love in us to our enemies when He said “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons(and daughters) of your Father who is in heaven.” Again the only way the world can understand our message of love as Christians is when we indeed demonstrate the love of God towards our family members, friends and those who hate us and even wish for our death. Let us remember that living by God’s love is not an option it is a commandment and a way of life for Christians. It is for this reason, when Christ was crucified on the cross, instead of showing anger and cursing His enemies, Luke 23:42 tells us that Jesus rather demonstrated the Love of God by saying “Father forgive them, they know not what they do” My dear brother and sister, how strong and enduring is the Love of God in you? Remember “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”(1 John 4:11-12)

We are being admonished that if the Love of God is perfected in us, we will not fear punishment on judgment day because we are ready and confident of the day of the Lord. It is only those who have lived a hypocritical life or have lived a life of pretence who will be condemned by their consciences and surely will be afraid of the judgment day. “By this, is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”(1 John 4:17-18)

For emphasis, It is again important to note that when we say for a fact that God is love, it does not make room for hypocrisy. Paul warns us in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 that “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” In the same vein, 1 John 4:20 admonishes us that “If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” My dear brother and sister in the Lord let us continue to reflect the true colours of Love that God has demonstrated to us through Christ, for the perfection of our salvation in Him. Shalom.

PRAYER

GOD OF LOVE, IT IS SOMETIMES HARD TO LOVE AND FORGIVE, LET YOUR HOLY SPIRIT EMPOWER US TO CONTINUALLY DO YOUR WILL EVEN IF IT BECOMES DIFFICULT TO DO SO. MAY YOU PERFECT YOUR LOVE IN US TOWARDS ALL WHO MAY COME OUR WAY IN THIS LIFE. AMEN