1 John 4:7-9
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.
The Apostle John declares that love is central to Christian life; without it, we do not know God. However, like with all things, our picture of love can sometimes be skewed by our broken and distorted world. With this in mind, how does the world’s definition of love differ from the love that John speaks of?
Worldly love is often defined as conditional, fleeting, or based on our feelings rather than truth. God’s love, demonstrated through Jesus’s death on the cross, is unconditional and sacrificial, even though we don’t deserve it. This means we should play an active role in kindness, selflessness, and forgiveness to reflect God’s love in all we do and stand in contrast to the world’s view.
Prayer prompt: Lord, help me love and place others before myself.
Written by Luke Robinson