A very special kind of love

The Father sent his Son to reveal a very special kind of love, that will perfectly preserve our fellowship with God and each other for eternity, 1 John 1:2-3. It’s not surprising, then, that God made it possible for us to experience this very special and totally unique love in our lives now.

How? By first of all giving us a clue as to “what this love is” in the life of his Son, 1 John 3:16 – which John could write about having watched Jesus in action, and seen the impact he’d had on people (1:1-3). And in all of it one point had become clear, that in both life and death “Jesus Christ laid down his life for us” (3:16).  

It was remarkable. In everything Jesus said and did that was his motive. Which in turn had given them a clear picture of God too, that “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all” (1:5). Because in watching Jesus they could see there wasn’t an ounce of darkness in him – no hidden motives, no underlying desire for control, no selfish purpose other than wanting to take away the sins of the world (2:2) so we humans can live happily together in God’s family forever.

To which John adds in 1 John 1:7, that “if we walk in the light as God is in the light, we have fellowship with one another,” meaning we can experience the same motives as Jesus in our relationships with each other too – no hidden agendas, no underlying selfish motives, just love and nothing else like him – so we’re already living now what will keep us living happily as God’s family forever.

But again, how does God make this possible? John’s answer is simple: like Jesus “we lay down our lives for our brothers” too (3:16) – which John describes in verses 17 and 18 as doing whatever is within our means to do good for those in need. That was Jesus’ entire motive during his lifetime too (Acts 10:38).

But how can we ever live such a life ourselves? Again, John’s answer is simple: this kind of love – the very special kind of love that will preserve our fellowship with God and each other forever – is “in his Son” (5:11). Not only in his Son’s example and teaching, but also in Jesus “living in us” and us “living in him” (3:24).

But how it it possible for someone to actually “LIVE IN” someone else? Is there a way of explaining it in “Why God created pregnancy”?….(next blog)