Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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God is Love
LOVE- HUMANE AND DIVINE

Bible Reading:  1 John 4:7–12

Key verse:  

“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love, does not know God, for God is love.” (vv. 7–8)


DEVOTION

The heart of the Christian faith is summed up in three simple yet profound words: God is love. John reminds us that love is not merely one of God’s qualities but His final commandment to us. Everything God does flows out of His love—His creation, His covenant, His discipline, and supremely, His sending of his only begotten son, Jesus Christ into the world, because He loved the world.
The Source of Love (vv. 7–8)
Love originates from God, not from human effort.
To love is to show that we are “born of God and know God.”
Absence of love is absence of true knowledge of God.
Application: Our love for others is the proof of our relationship with God. Human love is a reflection of something in the divine nature itself.
John calls us to “love one another” because true love has its origin in God. Human love, in its purest form, is a reflection of God’s own nature. When we love, we participate in God’s life, and when we refuse to love, we show that we have not truly known Him. Love, then, is not an option for the Christian; it is the evidence of knowing God.
2. The Manifestation of Love (vv. 9–10)
God’s love is not abstract—it is revealed in action; all the way to the cross.
The sending of His Son is the supreme demonstration of divine love.
Christ’s sacrificial death shows love that is self-giving, forgiving, and redeeming.
Love has double relationship, it comes from God and it leads to God.
Application: Christian love must also move beyond words into action and sacrifice
3. The Command of Love (vv. 11–12)
If God has so loved us, we are compelled to love one another.
Love for others makes the invisible God visible in our midst.
When we love, “God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.”
Application: The world sees God through the love His children demonstrate e. Human love is a response to divine love. We love others because God loved us first. Love of God and love of man are indissolubly connected. The only way to prove that God is within our hearts is constantly love of men through our words and deeds.
Conclusion
The message of John is clear: God is love. He revealed His love through Christ, and He calls us to reflect that same love in our relationships. When we forgive, serve, and care for one another, we embody the very nature of God. Let us, therefore, live as witnesses of divine love, so that through us the world may see Him who first loved us.

PRAYER

. Dear Loving God, You loved us before we love you. Thank you for your love and sacrifice for our redemption. Help us to live as reflections of that love-kind in our words, gentle in our actions, and generous in our care for others. May our lives be a witness to Your grace, so that others may see Your love shining through us. In Jesus name we Pray. Amen.


THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 “God loved us before we knew Him, therefore. We must love others as He loves us”.
 

P. T. Mathew, Mar Thoma Church of Dallas F. B

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