New Life Through God’s Love
1 John 4:7-21[1]
I know that not everybody looks at the world this way, but I
tend to think that most people have the best of intentions behind their
actions. Of course, the best of intentions can often go off the rails. If we’re
honest with ourselves, I think we have to admit that having the best of
intentions doesn’t guarantee we will do or say the right thing. Unfortunately,
having the best of intentions can actually keep us from seeing that we’re going
about something all wrong. I know that’s been true in my life more times than I
can count. I’ve made so many mistakes thinking I was doing or saying the right
thing because of my good intentions. But then I suspect I’m not alone in that.
It seems to be something that is a part of being human.
One of the tricky aspects of our good intentions is that they
can blind us to what really lies behind our words and actions.[2]
Oftentimes, our good intentions become our way of avoiding the fact that we’re
afraid. Some of us may be afraid that if people really knew us they would not
respect us or find us worthy of love and acceptance. Some of us may be afraid
that the world is against us, and that if we don’t fight tooth and nail we will
“lose.” Some of us may simply be afraid of the way the world seems to be
changing at an ever faster pace. It’s an experience I think we all share at
times: due to our fears we miss the fact that the “disruption” of change can
lead to a life we could never have imagined would be so good.
I believe our lesson from 1 John for today addresses this
problem of fear. Of course, in this particular context, the Scripture is
speaking to the fear of punishment. And the point is that because of the love
that God has freely poured into our lives through our Lord and Savior Jesus the
Christ, we need no longer fear any punishment. As the Scripture puts it, “In
this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be
the atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10). The impact of that love in
our lives is that we no longer have to cringe in fear before a God we’re afraid
will strike us down in anger. Instead, the message of the Gospel is that “God
is love.”
But I think this passage has more to say to us about the power
of God’s love to help us find new life than simply freeing us from fear of
punishment. The Scripture puts it this way: “God showed his love for us when he
sent his only Son into the world to give us life” (1 John 4:9, CEV). There is some significant theology
behind this. We call it the incarnation,
the belief that in Jesus, God somehow came to walk in our shoes, to experience
the fullness of our suffering, our struggles, and even our fears. And the
purpose of all this was so that we might “live”: really and truly live a life
of faith and hope and love that God intends for us all.
Throughout this passage there is an interesting interplay
between living in love and living in God. Following up on the statement that
“God is love,” the Scripture goes on to say “all who live in love live in God,
and God lives in them” (1 John 4:16, NLT).
“Living in love” and “living in God” seem to be interchangeable in our lesson
for today. That may seem confusing, but I think the point is that when we come
to know in the depth of our very souls that God loves us no matter what, we
find a whole new quality of life. And at the same time, that new quality of
life is only possible by experiencing God’s love for us. The two are
intertwined: we find new life through God’s love for us.
In this lesson, the new life we have through God’s love for us
results in our relating to one another with love. The Scripture puts it this
way: “Dear friends, since God loved us this much, we must love each other” (1
John 4:11, CEV). The idea is that if
God loved us enough to come among us in Jesus Christ and take the full measure
of our brokenness on himself, we can do no less than love one another. The
lesson goes on to state it plainly: “We love because God loved us first” (1
John 4:19, CEV). In fact, I would say
that one of the primary characteristics of the new life we find through God’s
love for us is that we share that love with others.
The good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that God freely
gives love to each of us. It seems to me that when we really get it in our
“heart of hearts” that God loves us no matter what, we are set free from the
chains that bind us. That includes the chains of fear that can keep us from
living fully into the new life we’ve been given. Bolstered by the assurance of
God’s love for us, we can have a whole new basis for relating to life and to
those around us. Instead of being driven by the fears that can haunt us, when
we find new life through God’s love, that love can become the motivation behind
our words and actions.
Of course, even here, we all fall short at times, despite our
best intentions. I don’t know many people in this world who make it their
purpose in life to go out and hurt someone intentionally. But even when it is
our intention to speak and act from the love of God in our hearts, nobody
perfectly embodies that intention. I know our lesson speaks of God’s love being
“perfected” in us. I think the point of that is that when we seek to share the
love we’ve received from God, the purpose for which God intended it is
fulfilled in us. It seems to me that, given our human experience of falling
short, we spend our lives doing our best to speak and act out of that love.
Fortunately, it’s not something we have to do in our own strength. At the end
of the day, it’s the power of God’s love working in us that enables us to live
this new life.
[1]
©2018 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 4/29/2018 at
Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.
[2]
See Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak,
85-91.
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