If we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 1 John 4:12
Active love is not always easy and there will be a lot of situations whereby we have a hard time extending love. This is why the love that we show to others does not begin with their actions toward us, but with God’s.
We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19
We know love because we know the Father, and we are able to show love because he showed us how. Jesus said, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love” John 15:6. The word abide (μένω – meno) means to stay/remain/continue/dwell. As we stay, or dwell, in the love of the Lord Jesus, we are dwelling in perfect love. The longer we remain there, immersing ourselves in that pure substance, the more that love is perfected in us.
Whoever abides in love abides in God, [and] by this is love perfected with us. 1 John 4:16,17
We tend to cringe or despair at the word ‘perfect’, for we often feel that we are so far removed from being perfect. That is the wonder of our salvation. We know that Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith; he is the foundation of it and he will see it through to completion. So it is with love. Just as our faith receives continued care and attention to grow and develop, so too does the love that God has given us. He is the author and perfecter of love, and as we abide in Him, that love will continually grow deeper, grow stronger, and grow toward perfection.
Take a moment to consider God’s amazing love. Consider the depth of it; consider the expression of it in your life and how it is being perfected. Finally, consider how you can reflect that love to those around you.
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