View Video Blog, Right Click Link: I John 3:18
Little children, let
us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
THE STUDY:
John is possibly dealing with a
group of people who were saying they loved one another but their actions were
not saying the same thing. John urges
moving from lip service to lived-out love. True love works; it expresses itself
in actions (see Mark 13:34). One can feel love and not act on it—loving only
with words or tongue. But such love is of doubtful value. A “love” that is only
words is not really love at all. The
faith of which John speaks sees needs and acts to meet them. One with material
means to help and in whose heart God’s life is active will instinctively show
God’s love by sharing with others.[1]
WHAT WE CAN WALK
AWAY WITH ….
- This morning, my heart is heavy with the understanding of many marriages struggling. Not just where I live but abroad as well. In the conclusion of this Blog I want to share something that speaks to couples but can be helpful to those who are single as well.
CONCLUSION:
In many families today, divorce, desertion,
and separation create untold grief and bitterness. Couples who at the time of
the wedding declared that they would love each other “until death do us part”
exhibit callous indifference when they contemplate divorce. Their wedding vows
lie broken like pieces of porcelain on a stone floor. What went wrong?
Love has vanished because it could
not flourish in an atmosphere of ever taking but never giving. Love can succeed
only in an environment where it is allowed to give, for genuine love is
sacrificial giving.
Look at the divine example. God
loves nothing more than to be able to give. Indeed, he loved us so much that he
gave his one and only Son to die for us (see John 3:16), and out of love for
his people Jesus laid down his life. Says John, “We ought to lay down our lives
for our brothers.”
What does the Lord expect in
marriage? Husband and wife should honor and love one another even to the point
of being willing to lay down their life for one another. When husband and wife
tenderly care for each other by imitating Christ’s example of sacrificial love,
they will experience that God keeps them together in marital love and blesses
their home and family with years of wedded bliss.
Blessings my friends
Pastor Rod
[1]
Williamson, R. (2010). 1, 2, & 3
John: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. New Beacon Bible Commentary
(126). Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press.
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