“THAT ONE PIECE OF EVIDENCE”

16 “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”

1 John 4:16

Yesterday, we learned that faith goes beyond knowing. It also includes a personal experience of the truth of Christ and the surrender of one’s will to God.

John combines knowing and believing in believers’ experience of God’s love. Whether faith precedes knowledge or the other way around is not important; what matters is that believers trust in God’s love and know what this love has done for them.

The Apostle also mentions that “God is love.” In God’s very nature is love, thus, everything He does is rooted in love—even when He renders justice and punishes evil. Whoever lives in love possesses the love of God and therefore abides in God.

The whole point of this verse is to encourage believers to keep trusting in God and demonstrate selfless love to one another. Love is proof that they share a personal relationship with God.

If we claim to belong to God, what piece of evidence do we present to validate our case? According to John, love is the unmistakable confirmation of God’s indwelling presence in us. We can’t say that we are Christians but live in hate. The terms Christian and hatred (except for evil) are incompatible.

Therefore, our relationship with God should invariably produce love in our hearts. This love is marked by a strong determination to seek the good of others. It allows us to give sacrificially. It makes us willing to endure suffering for the sake of God and His people.

Do you have this kind of love?

Pursue the Savior today!