God is Love (1 Jno. 4:7-12)

⁷ Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. – 1 Jno. 4:7-12

The Holy Spirit makes it very clear. Who God is must be reflected by His people. In our minds, speech, lives, interactions and worship. God is merciful and that mercy should be seen in us. God is faithful. God is good. God is patient. Who God is should be reflected by His people. Like father, like child.

John wrote that “love is from God.” It is not from the world. Not from a dictionary. Movies and media are not dependable determinants of love. “Love is from God.” And one powerful and obvious evidence of His love is that He “sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

So, where does this line of thought take us? “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”