Abide in God’s Love
”We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us.
God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”
1 John 4:16
One could expound upon love for hours, but in its truest form we see that God is love. Is this how you view God? Or do you see a God of judgment? A God of condemnation? A God of revenge? A God afar off? A God who manipulates?
God is love. This love drove Him to create beings with which He could relate. This love urged Him to want to pour out Himself in relationship with us! This love led to the discipline of Adam and Eve when they sinned, and this same love then paid the price for that and all sin upon the cross. God did not love us at the cross and then choose to condemn us. If you have accepted His love through faith in the blood of Jesus, then God looks upon you as His child, the one He loves. That love never changes, never falters, never fails, is patient and kind.
But what about your love towards God. This love must develop and grow. As I read through 1 John I see over and over again that my love for God will keep me from sin. If I love Him, I will keep His commandments. If I, then, am living in sin, my love for God is not pure. How do we develop in our love for God? The same way that we would grow in love to one another – through relationship and time spent together. As I read and pray and praise and seek God and listen to God, then I begin to know Him more and more. The more that I know Him, the more I will love Him. The more that I love Him, the easier it is to say no to sin.
Abide in love. That means to dwell there – to set your heart to ponder God’s love. When I am thinking about God’s great love, then I will not sin. Light and darkness cannot coexist! When I am abiding in God, then I will be empowered to keep His commandments and they are not burdensome, but rather they bring joy!
May you walk in His love today. Know His heart overflows with love for you. Abide in His love and know victory over sin.