Love Made Perfect

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Scripture

1John 4:7   Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10 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. 11 Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

Observation

The sense of God’s overwhelming love is found in this passage of scripture. The love expressed seems almost incomprehensible in its depths. This all-consuming love is poured out from the Father and overflows on those who are his children. 

This love is not a simple love, but a healing, reconciling, outward reaching, self-sacrificial love which is revealed in Jesus. Everything that Jesus did was out of pure love that would create a pathway for us to be in a relationship with God. The reality of that relationship is reflected in the ways in which we love others. Love is made perfect, or brought to its ultimate purpose or goal, in the ways in which we love one another. God loves us, therefore we must love others. When we love others, the world sees God in action. This is love made perfect. 

Application

We will all find people in this world that are difficult to love. Some will hurt us, and others will disappoint. But is there anything that anyone has done that matches up to what humanity has done to God? Even when we are at our best, we are not qualified to be in God’s presence, and yet, God, in love, sent Jesus to pour out his life for us. When we have experienced the forgiveness and love of Jesus, we are to do the same with and for others.

Forgiveness is a tricky thing because we would like to convince ourselves that we have the right to be unforgiving. We have been hurt, offended, and no longer desire for our pain to continue. Forgiving someone doesn’t mean that you have to stay in an abusive situation, but for there to be healing in our own hearts and souls, we must be able to let go and forgive. 

If we really began to examine the relationships in our lives we just might discover that there are some places where we have refused to seek forgiveness. If God’s love is to be brought to completion in us, then we must allow ourselves to become channels of that love. Pain, hurt, anger, and frustration will all become obstacles to the flow of God’s love that will bring healing to our lives and transform the lives of others. That is the beauty of God’s love being made perfect through us. As we become channels of God’s love, we ourselves, become whole. The perfection or completion of love brings about healing so that we can become perfectly human, which is to be in God’s image. That perfect love then radiates outward, bringing a holy warmth along the encounters of our lives. 

Prayer


Lord, in gratitude for holy, healing love, I give you my heart. Please, use me for your kingdom’s sake. Amen. 

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