GROWING IN CHRIST
“What Do They See?”
1 John 4:12 “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.” (NIV)
God loved mankind so much that He planned for Jesus, His only Son, to come to earth in the form of man and pay the price for your sins by dying on the cross so that you might have eternal life.
John 3:16 famously says it best, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
It was not merely for your salvation that God sacrificed Jesus on the cross, but that your life might be transformed to love others as He loves you!
God’s purpose is completed and perfected when your life is positively impacted so that others experience God’s love as He lives His life through you. The secret of Christ living through you is not in your commitment and activity in church, your knowledge of the Bible, or in the great works you do; the secret of Christ living through you is in your love for others.
Throughout Scripture, God promises an increased presence and work in you when you are obedient to His Word. God’s desire for you to love others ranks at the top of God’s call for obedience.
John 15:12-13 takes love to the next level, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
You might pray for God to fill your life with more of His presence and love, but possibly the better prayer would be to ask God to place people in your life to love as Christ loves you. When you love others as Christ unconditionally loves you, “God lives in you” – making His love complete.
1 John 3:16 “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” (NIV)
