The Gospel IRL: What Love Does (1 John 4:7-12)

What does love look like when we examine it on a granular level? Does loving one another really make difference in the world? And even if it did, how does one demonstrate the love God demonstrates to us?

Love is from God because God is Love. Love isn’t simply something God does, it’s who God is. God is other-oriented, self-giving love.

Love is revealed through action. In 1 John 4:11, John writes, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love God.” But how do we love God? There are plenty of places in scripture where we’re told to love God, including the ten commandments and from Jesus’ own mouth. But folks like John and Paul never emphasized our love for God. Instead they say, “If you want to love God, the way you do that is by loving other people.”

Where is love? It’s among us! No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God’s love abides, dwells, lives in us; the community of faith. And over time, as we live in God, as we love each other over time, our love grows more perfect. 

What difference does love make? Love literally heals us and not having love literally damages us. Though expressions of gratitude, connecting with others, or asking for help, may not seem like much, they are expressions of God’s love for us that, over time, heal us.