September 13th, 2013
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

What's It All About?

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Opening Prayer

Lord of all, Your Word is trustworthy and Your promises are sure. Today I reaffirm my trust in You.

Read 1 John 3:11-24

[11] For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. [12] Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. [13] Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. [14] We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. [15] Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. [16] This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. [17] If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? [18] Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. [19] This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: [20] If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. [21] Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God [22] and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. [23] And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. [24] The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Meditate

Perform a love-check on yourself. What are you prepared to do to express your love for (a) family and friends, (b) fellow-believers, (c) people in need?

Think Further

This passage has a “pulling threads together” feel about it: “this is the message …” (11) is balanced by “this is his command …” (23). What are the real core values of Christian faith and life, according to John?

Love is at the top of John’s list. It’s never been far from the surface, and now he makes it the essence of the “message you heard from the beginning: we should love one another” (11). He then unpacks this love in vs. 13-18: in its societal impact, this kind of love provokes opposition because it is countercultural (13); in its spiritual significance, it is the basis of our assurance that we truly have new life in Christ (14,15); in its radical newness, it holds nothing back, because it grows out of the self-giving of Christ (16); and in its down-to-earth practicality, it is expressed through action that reflects the heart of God himself (17).

Verses 19 and 20 look back to this exposition of love in vs. 14-18. In other words, there should be a period after v. 19. We “know that we belong to the truth” (19) when we are able to see, in ourselves, the beginnings of this kind of love. Our hearts may condemn us (20) because our love is nowhere near as strong as that of Jesus, but God knows the truth about us, even if we feel inadequate. And look at vs. 21 and 22. If we are truly getting close to the example of Jesus (as doubtless John himself was), then we have entered a relationship of wonderful intimacy with him, in which we will always pray for what he wants to give.

Apply

Return to your love check. How are you doing? If your heart “condemns” you, remember that God knows you better than you know yourself. Pray for grace, and rest in his love.

Closing prayer

Lord, when it comes to loving, my words can far exceed my actions. I need Your grace daily to show authentic love to those whose lives intersect mine. Empower me to love today.

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