Devotion:
Read 1 John 4:9-19.
This is another of the great “summary passages” in all of the Bible (beginning at verse seven). It focuses on our motivation and reasoning for loving other people. It is rooted in the identity and character of God. “God is love” as verse eight states. And God is the One who initiates the healing of our relationship with God by giving “his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.”
Verse 19 sums up why we love others: “We love because he first loved us.” An area church had a great phrase to put on signs around the city a couple of years ago: “Love is why.” Why did God send Jesus into the world? Love is why. Why did Jesus willingly become a human and die on the cross for everyone? Love is why. Why do we seek to live this love toward other people? Love is why.
Today in our worship services, we finish up this sermon series with “For God’s sake, we love.” We cannot be the people of God unless we are a people of love. We seek to know and grow in this love of God because we want others to know God in their life. We seek to show God’s love to every person we possibly can. Why? “We love because he first loved us.”
Personal Worship Option:
Who in your world of relationships most needs to experience the love of God? What might you do for them this week that could sow a seed of that love?
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