Scripture – vs 1 & 4 “… don’t believe everything you hear,”
“… for the Spirit in you is far stronger than anything in the world.”
Observation – Don’t believe everything you hear… that is easy. Oh, what a cynic I can be. Sarcasm waits on the tip of my tongue: I wonder if I believe anything at all anymore. The difficulty is, really believing in something!
The interplay of knowing God & Love is the theme of 1 John. Do I believe God is love? I need a strong Spirit within me to comprehend God’s love, to feel God’s love to receive God’s love. I need an even stronger Spirit to love God, love others and love myself. Does the Spirit really help me figure this out?
Application – Do I believe that the Spirit in me is stronger than my cynicism, stronger than my doubts, stronger than that little voice,… “God doesn’t speak to me,”?
It doesn’t matter. Believe it or not, the truth that is repeated over and over in 1 John is “God is love.” Thru Jesus, “God dwells deeply within us,” (vs. 12). That is why John wrote this letter, to remind us. We need to hear it over and over and over again from each other that God is love, that God sent Jesus, that Jesus cleared away our sinfulness, that God deposited his Spirit within us, that we are free to love others extravagantly!
My application of this passage today is to hear it again and then pay it forward. God’s love is demonstrated when we love each other.
Prayer – Jesus, I need to hear it from your word and my faith community that God is love. I need to hear it often. As I walk with you and others today, help me to release the strong Spirit you have given me by loving others and by discerning what is true by recognizing your footprints of love. Make it so in all I do and all I allow to enter my heart.
Lloyd Letkeman
Lloyd is married to Carol and the two of them are Regional Mission Mobilizers – Prairie Region for Mennonite Bretheren Mission.