Love like Jesus. Is it even possible? His best friend John thinks so. This week we have been studying 1 John 4, and in this final post in the series, John sums up his teaching, giving us some practical illustrations about how to love like Jesus. Here’s what he writes in verse 17,
“God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 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.”
John is saying, “Because God is love, when God lives in us, we are like Jesus to the world around us. Our loving action is the primary way that others will see God.” These are the principles John has been writing about throughout the chapter, as we’ve seen here and here.
Then, as if he has a new thought, maybe one he forgot, he adds in verse 18,
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
What a stark contrast between love and fear. Our world is filled with fear. Fear motivates. But we Christians view life through a lens of love, not fear. Because God is love, and because he lives in us, we need not fear. Instead, we can live confidently, hopefully, and thus sacrificially loving. That’s precisely how Jesus lived. He became one of us because we needed him. That is some sacrificial love. Likewise we can sacrificially give our lives in love to those who need us.
What does “sacrificial” mean? It means we make changes, and often sacrificial love means we give something up for our beloved. We sacrifice for them because we love them. Astoundingly, though “sacrifice” sounds awful and harsh, our actions of sacrificial love bring joy, to the people we sacrifice for and to us.
Finally John concludes with a clear application of how to love sacrificially in verses 19–21,
“We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.”
Who are you having a hard time loving? What can you do to love them? What sacrifice can you make to show love?
Love does not mean we need to be close friends with every person. There are many levels of relationships that are still loving. Best friends, close friends, casual friends, acquaintances. You can be loving to people in all those levels, and of course your action of love will likely look differently depending on the level of friendship.
In verses 19–21, when John refers to brothers and sisters, likely he has in mind the church family. A man in my church is in a rehab facility, and when I visited him recently, he and his wife mentioned the numerous people from our church family who had visited them. The wife remarked that our church is such a loving family.
The love that God wants us to have toward others also applies to our own family. Sometimes family is the most difficult to love. Here we are at another holiday season, and that means family gatherings. My family had three so far. Your family probably has some family Christmas and New Years gatherings too. Maybe there is someone in your family who is difficult to love. What will it look like for you to share God’s love with them?
Remember, John was handing over leadership to the next generation. He wanted the next leaders to live as Jesus lived, a life of sacrificial love. When we are connecting with God, in relationship with Father, Son and Spirit, accepting his love, we can sacrificially give this love away to others, and they will see God in us.
What a gift Jesus gave us. Humbly, sacrificially showing us how to love. What an act of love!
Photo by Shaira Dela Peña on Unsplash
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