Chapter 4:
Relationships require trust and vulnerability. We are always at risk whenever we put our trust in another, therefore we are to exercise wisdom in relationships as well. That is what John is getting at when he says “do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” False teachers attempt to lead truth seekers astray. Bad company can corrupt good morals and a companion of fools will suffer harm. So we are reminded that “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” God has made us overcomers because of Jesus in us – let’s never forget that we can choose to follow Jesus and not others!
Relationships also require love – and because we’re all sinners, they require the unconditional, sacrificial love of God: “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him………that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” And what should our response to that kind of love be? “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” We are to demonstrate love for others in the same way!
John finishes this chapter with one of his constant themes – LOVE! He uses this term interchangeably with God Himself. “God is Love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” And as this occurs, we will love others. “Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.”
SO WHAT?!
*May sound like a broken record, but do you and I LOVE God and LOVE others? Can we “prove” it by the way we live?
*How could you “lay your life down” for a Christian friend this next week?
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