This Love!
[16] And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us. God is love, and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him.
For everything that God does or puts in place, the devil tries to offer or put in place a close resemblance or alternative. Movies and music have presented love as this dreamy thing that is difficult to explain, leaves butterflies oin your stomach, and leaves your throat dry. We have been fed these unrealistic expectations around what love is, and it is now difficult to find the genuine article anymore. Movies refer to "making love' as if it were a laboratory and scientific experiment, and people have jumped from place to person in search of the real version of love. Unfortunately, you cannot find genuine things from a source that does not deal in the original.
How can you seek genuine love from someone God described as a liar, and the father of all liars? How can anyone who deals in stealing, killing and destroying be able to offer you anything that can promote God's kind of life? This is the start point of our reflection today: whatever you need, make sure you go to the right source. You have to know where to go and who to follow, so you are not sold the fake. This is the confidence with which John speaks here: "And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us". What boldness!
These words come from a place of clear conviction about who you are, whose you are, what you have been given, and where you are headed. God's love leaves you in no doubt as to its truth and sincerity. His words and actions have proven over the centuries that He loves me. Even before I was born, or knew that I needed help, the offer of eternal life was already made to me. Even when I was not sure I would surrender my life to Him, He still gave me His all anyway. He did not wait for me to deserve His sacrifice; He was going to lay down His life, regardless of my eventual response. That is love: the type that reaches out even when I pulled back or resisted.
Of course, the one who will show this kind of love to other people must have had a personal encounter with that love. I cannot give what I do not have. This is not one of the things you can fake. God is the personification and expression of love, and He invites us all to come to Him for that empowerment to love the way He does. It is IN Him that I am able to love and live like Him. The verse enjoins me to dwell IN Him. It is not coming to Him only for what I can get, but seeking to know Him well enough that His imprint on me shines through and cannot be ignored. If I want to reflect Him, I have to be in Him. Does God know me as His own? God's time of favour is here.
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