The Love Challenge (Part 9)

I want to apologise for taking so long to publish this next post in this series. I've been distracted, and the Lord already slapped my fingers. I promise to be faithful in publishing at least once a week from now on, but I will attempt to do more.

We are busy looking at love from 1 John 4. I recommend reading the other posts first.

1 John 4:16: And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

The words "and so we know..." mean that, since we acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God and therefore submit to Him as Lord, we will understand the love God has for us and rely on it. He loves us, so why should we fear or worry? If he loves us, He only has good in mind for us, and therefore we can trust Him.

Then verse 16 reads: “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God,
and God in them.” Do you remember the passage in Acts 17:28: ‘For in him we live and move and have our being’ and the vision I had of us being in the cloud (see here)? I want you to see the cloud as love. God is love. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 is therefore a definition of who God is: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” So, if we love like this, we are one with God, and He is in us.

In the preceding three verses of 1 Corinthians 13, Paul describes the religious churchgoer who goes through all the motions of religion, but does not love like God is: 1 Corinthians 13:1-3: "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. 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 I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing." Does it sound familiar? Have you caught yourself out as being like this? Have you come across people who are like it?

1 John 4:17 is profound and to be carefully understood: "This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus." What is the purpose of understanding love and being obedient in doing it? It is so we don't have to fear the day when we will stand before the judgment seat. We can be confident that we complied with all of the Lord’s expectations for us. Think of a time you had to face an interview panel for a job position. Have you prepared well for the interview? Have you ensured you have complied with all their expectations? Did setting yourself up for the job and the interview by doing everything they expected of you give you confidence to pass the interview?

What is the expectation for us to be confident during God's interview to enter heaven?

Love should be complete among believers.

How is love made complete among believers?

In this world, we are like Jesus.

How is Jesus?

Go and read the gospels and do what Jesus did, to the letter. Stop being churchy and religious.

The Love Challenge (Part 8)

We are busy looking at love from 1 John 4. I recommend reading the other posts first.

1 John 4:14-15: And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.

How do we have it now? Jesus said in John 3:3 & 5: "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again," and in verse five Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit," and in 1 John 4:7-8 as we discussed earlier in this series: Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Then, there is the clear indication in several passages that obedience is a prerequisite to salvation. What needs to happen for salvation is that the Lord needs to be your first love. That's what a love relationship is all about, isn't it? Imagine a woman meets someone and promises commitment to him, but their relationship consists of her saying hi to him every morning, and that's about it. He never sees her apart from when she greets him, and the occasional asking for help when she has exhausted all other options. He sits there longing to spend time with her. Do you think he'd want a relationship like that? The Lord desires a relationship with those who love and need Him at all times, not only when it's convenient for them.

Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23: Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ 

What Jesus said here is that those whose attitude is one of using His power for their own benefit won't be accepted into the Kingdom of God, but only those who have a childlike relationship with Him and obey His Father, acknowledging Him in all they do. As we obey Him, we get to know Him and build a relationship with Him. That's why He said, "I never knew you". It's like using the name of a well-known person to open doors for you, but you never meet them. Then, one day, you happen to see him at a meeting, and you walk up to him, saying, "Hello, I'm John. You have opened wonderful doors for me." He'll just look at you and say, "Who are you?" 

A believer's first priority is to build a relationship of trust with Father God, by the Holy Spirit, through the Son, Jesus. Everything else flows from it by faith and in obedience. The focus should never be on the believer, but on and to the glory of the Master who does the work through the believer.

These words in 1 John 4:15, "If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God", therefore encompass all the passages relating to salvation we've mentioned above. Acknowledgement is more than just saying that Jesus is the Son of God
Acknowledgement is living in obedience as if Jesus, the Son of God, is your Lord. 

It's like a little child waiting for the next step from her parents. She
knows she cannot do it on her own and acknowledges her complete dependence on them, exercising the resulting obedience to them. This is why Jesus said in Matthew 18:3: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

From this will flow all the other prerequisites for salvation - rebirth, love, and obedience in doing the love acts He has prepared for you.

To be continued