We are discussing love from the perspective of 1 John 4. To get the context, please read part one first if you haven't already. We have reached 1 John 4:8: "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love".
So, how do we know we are born again and are like God? We examine our behaviour, interests, priorities, how we interact with people, our desires, and so on, and we test and compare them against who God is, as described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
born of God and do not know Him. You may have said the sinners' prayer, you may be active in a lot of Christian and religious activities, be active in church, but Paul puts it as follows in 1 Corinthians 13:1-2: If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. [2]If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
If all Christians love enough to actively make a difference in other people's lives, the world would be a much different place. We don't need to be world missionaries or trained as pastors. We only need to touch people where we are - in the shop, on the street, in the parking lot, at work. We only need to be witnesses, telling our stories. We need to comfort, encourage, exhort, motivate, and teach people what we have learnt in our walk.
Jesus told His disciples in Acts 1:8: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." His disciples could reach parts of Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, but needed their downline of disciples (that's us) to reach the ends of the earth. Who did Jesus speak to in the above passage? He spoke to all His disciples, including all those who would follow Him throughout the ages. Are you a disciple of Jesus, His follower? Yes? Then He spoke to you as well. What are we to do? We are to be witnesses of what we have seen the Lord do and what He taught us. We need to care. Satan will throw circumstances your way to keep you busy and so focused on yourself and your problems that you would use it as an excuse not to act in love.
Jesus said in John 13:35: By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” It's not by your church-going, or your religious duties, or even your good works that people will connect you with Jesus. Lots of unbelievers do good works. It's by our love. It's by being Jesus for others, doing what He did and having the attitude He had that links us to Him in the minds of observers. Love is not a feeling, the warm heart we often confuse with love. Love is an action, an activity, something you do. How else can we love our enemies as Jesus commanded us in Matthew 5:44? We cannot feel love towards them. How can you feel love towards someone who wants to harm you, someone who hates you? How would you love your enemies then? By doing good things for them. The Lord made it easy for those attentive to His voice. Ephesians 2:10 tells us: For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
The Lord prepared your love activities for you even before you were born and presents them to you daily as opportunities to show off His love. What are you doing with those opportunities? Colossians 4:5-6: Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. [6]Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
What will Jesus do about your opportunities? On the day of judgement of the believers, He is going to call you to account for the good works God went to the trouble of preparing for you and presented to you as opportunities, and is going to require an explanation of what you have done with them. What are these opportunities? They are opportunities to love, so the world can see who Jesus' disciples are and therefore who He is. They are opportunities to make a difference in people's lives, to the glory of God.
To be continued
