Today’s Chapter is 1 John 3

Tom writes:

This is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us (v23). Love one another. When we love other people our hearts can be at rest in God’s presence. When we love one another we feel confident in our God. So I’d like to spend more of my energies on loving other people. I wonder if you feel the same? That means laying more things down. That means giving more stuff away. It sounds like a bit of a bummer but actually it is not. I’ve never had a material possession that has come close to the satisfaction of feeling confident in my God. Our new car (when it was new) felt pretty satisfying for a day or so but then it got a bit grubby and someone spilled food on it and I realised it actually wasn’t that brilliant after all. Not compared to a heart permanently at rest with my God.

I’m becoming increasingly convinced that there is nothing sweeter than expressing pure love to brothers and sisters in the faith. They are worth laying everything down for. To show them love just feels like the purest act that I could ever perform. That’s why my wife and I have committed to spending as many Sundays at church as we can. That is why we lead a small group. That is why we have tried to organise our lives so we can lay down our lives for those around us. Because when we do that - when we love with actions and in truth - it feels like the most magnificent way to spend an hour (or two or three or four). Better than “seeking a blessing”, better than “pursuing my dreams”, better even than trying to “do evangelism” is expressing the pure love of Jesus to a person God loves. I wish we all prayed for that more. I wish we all wanted to love more. I wish we all wanted to give away more. When we really love one another we will look just like our Father who gave it all for us as an expression of pure love.

Question for reflection

How could you rearrange your life so that you could love other people in church even more?

1 John 3 - Wednesday 20th November