09 09 08 BECAUSE HE SO LOVED US

“If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God resides in him and he in God. And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has in us. God is love, and the one who resides in love resides in God, and God resides in him. By this love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the Day of Judgment, because just as Jesus is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears punishment has not been perfected in love. We love because He loved us first.” (1 John 4:15-19 NET)

John has a rather simple message: believe on the Lord and live out that belief. The more we (the believers) understand the nature of God we can better understand one another and live in fellowship such that the watching world will then seek out the One we so believe in! BECAUSE HE SO LOVED US and we so love one another, others will want that kind of love. They should see it in our actions and then they’ll desire that kind of intimate and personal relationship for themselves.

In a world where we face fears of home foreclosures, concerns over job security, relationship breakdowns, and natural disasters occurring week after week, people live in fear! Yet the worst that can happen to a born-again believer is to die and even then, we have the confidence of being safely in the arms of our Savior!

If we don’t fear death, why do we fear the economy? If we don’t fear the after-life then why do we worry about this present life? Fear is facing a Holy God who judges sin. Fear is knowing there is no hope without the blood of Jesus. Fear is not knowing what happens after death! However, perfect love, an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, removes all fear. This is the kind of love we need to show the world and show them through our actions!

Christ brought peace to troubled relationships. He brought healing to grieving hearts. His gentle Spirit and soothing words made the outcasts feel like family and the rejected became the redeemed. BECAUSE HE SO LOVED US, we so love others. So…what are we gonna’ do? We love on people!