Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:
1 John 4:7-12 (NIV)
God’s Love and Ours
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 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. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
God loved us first. It’s the reality of the timeline: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We are loved by God first. How does this impact your day, your relationships, and your worldview? Here, again, we are reminded that God is our model. We are loved by God; therefore, we are called to love others. Yesterday we pondered how to do good to those that were hard to love. Today, consider ways that you can show love to those that you are in close community with. This might be people at home or work, people at school, and – as we gather for worship – how can we love those we worship with? I look forward to practicing the love and grace of God as we worship and serve together!