Be Loved

Week 8

1 John 4:11 (KJV)   -           Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

·         "Be loved" 

      Think about it! You are loved of God. The Great I Am, Creator of all things loves you. Not in word only but in deed. He left His throne in Heaven and came to Earth just to die a cruel death on the cross so that we might be reconciled to Him. Today be silent, be aware, be filled, and above all things be loved. Don't fight it. Don't ignore it. Don't run from it. Just open your heart to God's affection and be loved.

·         “if God so loved us” 

      That “if” refers to verse 9 “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.”  Love must be shown!  Eloquent words and flowing speeches can stir man’s heart but only love has the power to destroy the shackles and lift the heart of the oppressed.

·         “God so loved” 

     The words of this song say it best “Could we with ink the ocean fill, And were the skies of parchment made, Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade, To write the love of God above, Would drain the ocean dry, Nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky.”  Remember, we have a Father that loves us!  It is His good pleasure to give to us the kingdom. (Luke 12:32)  That means God delights in blessing us.  It is not earned or received from begging.  God’s blessings are given because He delights in His children.  God desires to dwell with you.  Will you draw close to Him today?  

·         “We Ought”   

     Overwhelmed by the God’s love.  Loved by the Great I Am and called His Beloved.  We must respond with love!  Love for the Father who loved us while we were yet sinners.  Love for Jesus who gave all to redeem us.  And love for one another!  This love flows from the Father and overwhelms us.  It flows through us to a world that is longing, hoping, crying to know real love.

·         “Love One Another”   

     God doesn’t tell us to love those that love us.  He doesn’t tell us to do good to those that do good to us.  There are no exceptions to His command.  If we love God, we will love others – all of them.  That is impossible in our own strength.  People have a propensity to say the wrong thing, do hurtful things, and generally just rub us the wrong way but God looked beyond our faults and saw our need.  The need to be loved.  That is the nature of God and He wants to impart His nature into our lives.