Our pattern for love

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 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 propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. – 1 John 4.7-11

We have read a lot about love in 1 John. It is a recurrent theme and we might be tempted to skip some of the verses because it seems like the same thing over and over. But God put it the way He did for a reason.

Love is not based in the fact that we love God because we could not have loved Him before He loved us. We love Him because, and only because, He loved us first. As a result of His love for us we are to love Him and love each other.

But there is a little phrase in here  we don’t want to miss.

God sent His son to be the propitiation for our sins. God’s love led Him to send his Son to satisfy our sin debt. I think the picture we have here is that true love is going to be costly. Love is not cheap. Love loves even when the cost of loving is great.

Our example of love is a Saviour who gave everything for us. God showed His love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.

What does our love look like?