Solid Ground in Shaking Times 7: Why Love is Such a Big Deal - 1 John 3:11-24

I was walking with two of my grandchildren recently, a boy and a girl. It had just rained. The girl is a little princess and the boy loves mud puddles. They were walking beside each other when the boy stomps in a deep mud puddle and soaks his sister almost up to her waist, which completely exasperated her and she cried out expressing her deepest frustration, trying to wipe the mud off. Well, he was surprised by her reaction and he looked down at his own feet which were from the knees down was completely mud, which he considered to be a badge of honor. He looked his feet and he looked at her and he looked at me, and smiled. What an accomplishment! I found the whole situation was very funny, though, it was not very loving. I want to talk here today about why love is such a big deal. We're walking through the book of 1 John in a series called "Solid footing in shaking times". Today we read starting from 1 John 3:11. Extra reading: Leviticus 19:9-18 Preacher: Bill Dyck