SHOW ME HOW MUCH YOU LOVE HIM

“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
1 John 4:7-8 NLT

This expression of love is another of John’s repetitive themes and another way of recognising a true believer.

John began this letter by declaring, “God is light.” Now that’s a powerful statement! God is not a light, one among many, but light itself, the very source of light. There is no light brighter than God in both the literal and spiritual sense.

What does John mean by “light”? He recorded Jesus’ words in his gospel,

“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
John 8:12 NLT

The imagery of light and darkness is one of the great themes of the Bible. Light exposes and illuminates. Darkness conceals, allowing evil to flourish in secret.
Jesus diagnosed the reason for wickedness in the world.

“And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”
John 3:19-21 NLT

God is light, and there is no darkness in Him, implies that He has no sin in Him and He will have nothing to do with sin. He is holy, utterly separated from sin. God’s Word is often compared to a light, illuminating God’s nature and ways so that we can know what He requires of us, His children.

“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”
Psalms 119:105 NLT

So, since Jesus is God’s Word to us in human form, and since Jesus lived His life in obedience to God’s Word, we will learn to live our lives in obedience to God’s Word if we follow His example.

“God is love”, John’s second great declaration, is the other side of the coin. These two statements, God is light and God is love, perfectly sum up the nature of God. We can say the same thing in these two words, God is “holy-love”. These two qualities keep God’s nature in perfect balance.

Since we are God’s “tekna”, offspring, of the same nature as God through our new birth by the Spirit, we reveal that nature by loving one another as He loves us. Loving one another means that we do everything in our power to promote peace and harmony, to care for each other’s needs, and to build one another up in our faith.

Those who do not express God’s love in these ways, despite their claims, do not know God. It’s as simple as that.