7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 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. 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. 1John4:7-10
If God is love and we, in His image, are called to love and serve our neighbours, then what is love?
Selwyn Hughes offers some definitions:
* Bringing out the highest good in another person.
* Love is the only service that power cannot command and money cannot buy.
* Love is always open arms. If you close your arms about love, you'll find you are left holding yourself.
* To love is to be vulnerable.
John's definition of love is simple: When God saw our need, He took the initiative. Jesus came into our circumstances, He paid the price, He shed His blood.
Love is when we
1. take the initiative,
2. step into the situation
3. and give of ourselves.
Although this looks simple - it is actually very profound.
The enemies of love are fear and self-centredness.
And the more we reach out in love, the more these get pushed aside. A little later in the same chapter John writes: " 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear"
May we begin to practice this kind of love.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
