1 John 4:7-21 (NRSV)
Read 1 John 4:7-21 on biblegateway.com
Verse 7Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Verse 8Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. Verse 9God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. Verse 10In 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. Verse 11Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. Verse 12No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. Verse 13By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
Verse 14And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. Verse 15God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. Verse 16So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.
Verse 17Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. Verse 18There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. Verse 19We love because he first loved us. Verse 20Those who say, "I love God," and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. Verse 21The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.
Devotion
I was just a little kid, too young to go to school, when my mother went to Ladies Aid (now WELCA) and I had to go with her. I’m not sure whether I was misbehaving or perhaps just showing signs of boredom, but I was not very interested in either the Bible Study or the business meeting.
One of the kind ladies noticed me and beckoned me to come to her. She found a corner to the side, lifted me on her lap, and began to tell me stories. I don’t think any of them were Bible stories; all I remember is that she told me the story of the Little Red Hen. They did not have to be Bible stories. Three quarters of a century later I still remember that she saw me and cared about me.
How do we reflect the love of God? Maybe just by listening to one another or just by noticing a bored little kid and making him feel important. He just might remember it 75 years later!
Prayer
Lord, thank you for the people who share God’s love by noticing children. Amen.