I’ve been pondering 1 John for several weeks. Frankly, it’s been a bit frustrating.
I’m trying to understand why the writer goes on and on about love. I get that love is a big deal. It’s the big deal. But it feels like the letter goes around and around this same topic.
I figure I must be missing something deeper. So I continue to mull over these words, seeking the wisdom of this old man who walked beside Jesus.
We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
I think he’s saying I can’t love on my own. Any “love” I create is some kind of sentimentality, at best a shadow of the sacrificial agape that’s God’s inherent nature. Since “God is love” (verse 16), my attempt to love on my own is essentially creating God in my image.
I can only reflect the love I’ve received and accepted.
And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. (1 John 4:21)
I’ve known “spiritual” folks who wanted to withdraw, live in isolation, focus on God and their relationship with Him. If I understand this statement, John’s saying we can’t really do that.
I think he’s telling us community isn’t optional, that love for God must be expressed as love for other people.
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In our culture, neither of these notions is comfortable. John seems to claim we’re not the independent, self-made individuals we prize so highly. We don’t get to be in control, and we can’t have it our way.
We’re interdependent on others and dependent on God.
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