We all have those in our lives who are hard to love. Our natural selfishness also compounds this challenge to love. So how can we fulfill Christ’s command to love one another when others and our flesh make it so hard? As we have examined 1 John 4, we have discovered that God’s love motivates our love. As we understand Christ’s love for us, we naturally turn that love to others. Last week we looked at the fantastic things that Christ has done for us. Next, let us turn to 1 John 4:11-21.

John states that because God loved us enough to sacrifice His Son for us, we ought to love others in that same way. How can we respond in love when someone legitimately hurts us? How can we react with love when we are used and abused? How can we obey God, bless those who curse us, and pray for those who despitefully use and persecute us? How can you forgive the unforgivable? How can you love the one who deserves hate? We find the answer in the person of Christ and the love of God. Your view of God dictates your view of life. You can forgive because God forgave you. It is time to forgive and show grace to one another. Because everyone deserves it? Certainly not. Because everyone was right? Most definitely not. Because God loves us with amazing love, we are to love in the same way!

John continues to state that people see God when they see our love for each other. People see who God is and what God is like in the way His church acts. “That is, the unseen God, who once revealed himself in his son, now reveals himself in his people if and when they love one another” (Stott, 164). Hillsdale County sees God in how Cambria Baptist Church loves one another and the people around us. God sacrificed his one and only Son for us while we were his sworn enemies. We demonstrate that love by loving others in the same way. 

This text is fascinating because the solution to our anger and failure to forgive is to deepen our walk with God and our understanding of Christ’s sacrifice. The answer to anger is not to repeat some mantra about not being angry. It is not to count to ten every time you face a situation that frustrates you. The solution is to deepen your walk with God. When you understand the incredible love of God for you, you will love others.

Galatians 5 informs us that when we walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. A lack of love dominates the list of the works of the flesh that Paul gives. However, the very first fruit of the Spirit is love. The way that we come to love others is to view God rightly and walk with him in harmony. When this happens, love naturally pours out of us. Are you struggling with loving others? It is a sign that your relationship with God has some issues. Work on your relationship with God through the spiritual disciplines, and you will discover that love for others naturally happens. God’s love motivates our love.