Here’s another thought from Sunday’s small group Bible study. We were in 1 John 4, looking at the “definition” of love. John goes into some detail about what true love from God looks like as exhibited to one another.
John is quite clear that true love looks like what Jesus Christ enacted—self-sacrifice. Just as Jesus gave his very life for us, true love happens when we give our lives to others. However, there is an interesting statement that happens in the second half of verse 7: “…and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”
The question came up which basically asked, “If that is the measure of whether or not someone is ’saved,’ then what about people in our world who don’t believe in Jesus as the Redeemer, yet have dedicated their lives and material wealth to helping others? How does that square with verse 7 that seems to state that anyone who loves in this manner knows God?”
My answer was this. We always must be careful to not pick out one or two single verses and build a theology—the fault of so many cults—but rather read things not only in context of the surrounding passage but also measure each verse in the light of the whole of Scripture.
If you go onto read verse 15, we are told, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” The word “confess” here has the meaning of proclaiming. If you take verses 7 and 15 in context with one another, someone who knows God has the evidence of not only true sacrificial love in their lives, but also proclaims Jesus as the Son of God with their lips.
Isn’t that really what true love is? Isn’t sharing the Gospel with someone else the highest form of love possible. Showing love by caring for others and providing for their materials needs is a great thing—it’s part of what Scriputre defines as “pure religion”—but it can only go so far.
Someone who loves in truth will not only care for the material needs of those around them in the measure God has blessed them to do so, but will also share the love of Jesus by proclaiming Him the Son of God.
