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#3) 1 John 4:16
"And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love.
Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them."
Love
This passage teaches us that God is love, and that love comes from God
(verse 7). God demonstrated His endless love for us by
sending His one and only Son into the world as an atoning sacrifice for our
sins (verse 10), so that we could live through Him (verse 9).
Verse 11 tells us that, "since God so loved us, we also ought to love
another." We are to love God as He loves us (verse
16). If we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in
us (verse 12). Verse 21 says, "Anyone who loves God must also
love their brother and sister." If we don't love, we don't
know God, because God is love (verse 8). "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" (verse 20).
We please God by doing good, and an obvious beginning toward doing good
is to love one another (1 Corinthians 13:13). It pleases God
when we love Him, and when we love one another as ourselves (Galatians
5:14). This is a godly love, meaning that we're willing to
pursue the well-being of others. We simply maintain an attitude that
is free of any ill will or dissent toward them. This kind of
love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8), and we are to aggressively pursue
this love (1 Corinthians 14:1).
It is God's will for us to please Him, and to bring glory to
Him. Luke 22:42 says, "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me;
yet not My will, but Yours be done."
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