“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” –1 John 4:10-11NIV
It's all a matter of perspective. God doesn't owe us anything because we so graciously chose to love Him. We owe Him everything because He graciously chooses to love us. And graciously is a word that we should not take for granted! True, God loves us when we're dressed in our Sunday best, worshipping Him wholeheartedly at church. He also loves us, though, when we're driving too fast and grumbling in frustration at every driver who gets in our way. He loves us in the morning before we've had that first cup of coffee or brushed our teeth. He loves us whether we’re doing our best or our worst at work. God loves us graciously and completely--and He loved us first.
This is why loving others is something we ought to do. And I don't think John meant ought in the sense of it would be a nice way to repay such a loving God. I think John meant that love is our duty. It's our responsibility. It's something we're obligated to do whether we feel like it or not.
For instance, you probably won’t feel much love for the cashier who overcharges you and refuses to correct the mistake. You also won’t feel much love for the driver who cuts you off and runs your car into a ditch on a snowy day. You won’t feel any love at all for the neighborhood bully who blackens your child’s eye.
But what a person feels in each case is beside the point. The response is still to be one of love: being patient, showing kindness, offering forgiveness, realizing we also make mistakes and receive love from God in spite of them all. We may have to reign in our emotions, holding them accountable to right actions, but we still have an obligation to choose to love. The amazing result of this obedient choice, however, is often a surprise encounter with right feelings to match those disciplined actions. And isn’t love for others a happier emotion to carry around?
Each situation of every day requires love to honor God. Who ought you to love today?
Gracious and forgiving Lord, thank You for loving me so completely. Help me to pass that love along in obedience to You. Amen.
Janet Reeves
Janet is an Army chaplain's wife and mother of three sons. She is also, ever-gratefully, a growing child of God. She holds a B.A. in Christian ministry from Point Loma Nazarene University and has had numerous articles published in a variety of Christian and educational magazines. In her spare time, Janet enjoys reading, running, scrapbooking, and flower hunting. You can read more of Janet's writing at either of her blogs: http://wildflowerthinking.blogspot.com and http://homeiswhereGodsendsyou.blogspot.com.
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