46 times in 26 out of 105 verses you can find the word love in the book of 1 John, this is the first thing that struck me today as I read through this book. Obviously the author (whom we presume is the apostle John) had a point to make about love. Not to downplay the other themes of walking in the light and understanding and believing that Jesus is the Christ this subject of love is what jumps out at me today.
My favorite verse in this book is 4:18 particularly the first half that reads, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.” God’s love for us is incredible, when we know and believe that God showed us His love by sending His one and only Son into the world to be an atoning sacrifice for our sins we can’t help but share that love with others.
Here we have John pouring out his heart for the people to remember the foundations of their faith, believing in the basic understanding of how God loves us, how God is the light in this dark world, a reminder that through Jesus our sins have been forgiven. John reminds us that when we experience and know God’s love we will be prepared to face the challenges and actions of the world that face us each day.
As we grow into leadership and relationship with others it is this love that John talks about that needs to shine through us.
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