THE POWER OF LOVE
READ:
1
John 4:7-10
In
this is love, not that we
loved
God, but that He loved
us
and sent His Son to be the
[atoning
sacrifice] for our sins.
-1
John 4:10
Books on leadership often appear on
best-seller lists. Most of them tell how
to become a powerful and effective leader.
But Henri Nouwen’s book In the
Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian
Leadership is written from a different perspective. The former university professor who spent
many years serving in a community of developmentally disabled adults says: “The
question is not: How many people take
you seriously? How much are you going to
accomplish? Can you show some
results? But: Are you in love with Jesus?..In our world of
loneliness and despair, there is an enormous need for men and women who know
the heart of God, and heart that forgives, that cares, that reaches out and
wants to heal.”
John wrote, “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent
His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but
that He loved us and sent His Son to be the [atoning sacrifice] for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10).
“The
Christian leader of the future,” writes
Nouwen, “is the one who truly knows the
heart of God as it has become flesh…in Jesus.”
In Him, we discover and experience God’s unconditional, unlimited
love. –David McCasland
Father,
please show the wonder of Your great love
through
me to others today so that they might know
they
need not walk through life alone. Let my
heart
personally
experience and display Your care.
*******************************************
God’s
love in our heart gives us a heart for others.
INSIGHT
John,
who referred to himself as “the disciple [Jesus] loved” (John 13:23; 19:26;
20:2; 21:7), wrote his gospel to show how God is his great love, how God gave
us His Son to die for our sins, and how Jesus came to give us abundant life
(3:16-18; 10:10; 17:3). This new life is to be characterized by love
(13:34-35). John wrote 1 John to show
believers how to put love into action.
In today’s passage, he reiterated the primacy and priority of the Christian
to love. The person who lacks love shows
that he does not really know God not is in close fellowship with Him, “for God
is love” (vv.7-8). In this letter, John
reminds us once again of how much God loves us (vv.9-10).
Have a blessed evening.
God Our Creator’s Love Always
Unity & Peace
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