“The concrete reality of relationships makes them the unavoidable training ground for love.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – October 12, 2023
We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. 1 John 4:19-21, NIV
Love of God is rooted in our love for others. This is the plain and simple teaching of Scripture, though there is nothing simple about putting it into practice! If our love for God does not include the people he has placed in our lives, John is unambiguous in his condemnation, calling us liars! However difficult it may be, this truth is one that we must contend with, for it lies at the very heart of our ability to live faithful and holy lives.
In many ways, it is easier to love God in isolation. You and I have never seen God, and his perceived distance or absence can leave us distracted and forgetful. On the other hand, that family member who always asks you for money is quite visible! Or, that other family member who boldly embraces a way of life that you believe to be for their harm, they too are far more difficult to forget.
The concrete reality of relationships makes them the unavoidable training ground for love.
If you want to love God, start with your love (or lack of love) for your brother or sister. Who are the people in your life that God is inviting you to be in relationship with, not only when it is easy, but when it is profoundly difficult? What does it mean to love them when you get nothing in return? Are you able to love when they don’t deserve it?
These are the questions we must be willing to ask ourselves, especially if we want to know what it means to love God in real and concrete ways. If you want to grow in your capacity for love and encounter with God, begin with those closest to you. And when that is a profoundly hard thing to do, resist the natural impulse to keep brokenness at arm’s length. God is with you, and he may, in fact, want to use you in a surprising way to communicate his love for one of his children in and through you.
Prayer
Father, as I long to love you and know your love, may I also grow in my ability to love my brother and my sister, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
Who is God asking you to love today as a concrete expression of your love for him?
Related Reading
Matthew 22:37-39; John 13:34; Colossians 3:14
Worship Resource
10,000 Fathers and Mothers ft. Nate Moore: Let Us Be Known
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