whoever claims to abide in him ought to live [just] as he lived. 1 John 2:6 NABRE
John writes to his community about love in this first letter. John says if you say you know God but do not keep his commandments, then you are a liar. But if you keep God’s word, then the love of God is truly perfected in you. John give us this short truth, if someone is in union with God then they live as he lived. It is a walk the walk message, and the walk we walk is the walk of Jesus. Pastor @craiggroeschel posted recently on social media, “Christianity isn’t a hobby. It’s not just an interest or a piece of our lives. Christ IS our life and we are called to lay down our lives daily as an act of worship to Him.” It is so true. We shouldn’t be people who live our faith an hour a week on Sunday or at other times when we help someone or provide some charitable service. We should live as Jesus lived all the time. We do this because we are called to love. If we love then it is impossible to live any other way than as Jesus lived. Love means our aspirations are for the one we love.
When it comes to love we first need to love ourselves. We cannot give what we don’t have to share. Maybe we are someone who thinks we don’t deserve the love of Jesus, or we haven’t earned Jesus salvation for us. First, it is true, we can’t earn the love of Jesus, but we do have it. From before we were born we were loved by Jesus, we were so important that Jesus emptied Himself to come in the form of a slave so that we would know we have hope in Him. We must love like Jesus and then we can live like Jesus. We are adopted into God’s family which makes everyone our brother and sister. If we do not love God’s children, our brothers and sisters, it is not true we love God.
Are you living like Jesus all the time? What distracts you from living as Jesus lived?
We can’t earn the love of Jesus, but we do have it. From before we were born we were loved by Jesus, we were so important that Jesus emptied Himself to come in the form of a slave so that we would know we have hope in Him. Click To Tweet#bible #godisgreat #jesus #christianity#dailybibleverse @youversion #live #love#daily #John #everybodyalways #god#jesuschrist #jesussaves #godisgood#dailydevotion #biblestudy #scripture#bibleverse #verseoftheday #pray #prayer#goodnews #loveeachother #godisgreat#bocaraton #youversion #everythingalways