Ep 227 – 1 John 4:7-21 PT 3

In this, our third episode on 1 John, chapter four, verses 7-21, we'll continue to explore John's definition of love. And he will make it quite clear that God is love. He is the ultimate definition of love. We don't get to define love on our terms. And we don't get to decide whether God is loving us the way we want to be loved. One of the major problems in our society today is that we have turned love into a self-centered, all-about-me kind of sentiment that begins and ends on us. We decide how we want to be loved and demand that everyone, including God, love us the way we expect. But John will demand that we abide in love – in other words, that we find comfort in the love of God as expressed in the sacrificial death of His Son. If we want to know if God loves us, all we have to do is look at the cross. God's love for us is not to be measured in the size of our checking account, the square footage of our home, the cost of our car, the absence of difficulties or any feelings of happiness we may enjoy. The love of God is to be found in the Son of God and His death on our behalf. God reconciled us to Himself by sending His Son to pay the penalty for our sins. And we are to remain in that love.