LIFE SKILLS FOR IMPACT (2)

“Beloved, let us LOVE one another, for LOVE is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God” – 1 John 4:7

LOVE is fundamental to all principles, lifestyles, and LIFE SKILLS for IMPACT: “Beloved, let us LOVE one another, for LOVE is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 Jh.4: 7-8). Love is the foundation of Christian conduct, reflecting God's own nature. Love originates from God and manifests in our relationships with others. Loving others demonstrates our relationship with God. Love is the major Emblem and Insignia of our Christian Faith: “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have LOVE for one another” (Jh.13:35).

The declaration “God is Love” implies that His very nature is love. His love is the foundation for all other expressions of love. No impact is comparable to the Impact of Love. Those who do not love are not truly divinely connected. God's Love was shown through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ (vv.9-10). We love because God first loved us, and He sent His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. Love is not merely an emotion, but a defining attribute of those who are genuinely connected to God. Ultimately, Perfect Love, that originates from God, conquers fear and enables Believers to live boldly and confidently: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love” (v.18).

Love is not a one-time event, but an ongoing lifestyle of loving others as Christ loves us. We cannot claim to love God if we do not love our brethren in Christ: “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also” (vv.20-21). By living a Lifestyle of Love, Believers can manifest God’s Character to the world, overcome fear, and experience the fullness of God’s Love in their lives. Even Faith works through Love (Gal.5:6).

Today’s meditation passage calls Believers to perfect the Love of God, that is: Love genuinely and sacrificially, reflecting God's Love; recognize that love is a defining quality of our relationship with God; embrace Love as a lifestyle, not just an emotion; allow perfect Love to cast out fear; and understand that love for God and love for others is inseparable. In essence, Love is the divinely-ordained basis of the lifestyles and skills for God-glorifying Impact. The Impact of Love is the greatest (1Cor.13:13).