He loves us to love each other

“Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.” – 1 John 4:11 

God’s love for us is the great motive for us to love one another. As born of God, and therefore resembling our Father who is love, to the extent that we appreciate God’s love for us, we love him and we also love others, the brothers, the children of the same God, the representatives of the invisible God.

The Spirit of God is the Spirit of love. He who does not love the image of God in his people, does not have the saving knowledge of God. For it is the nature of God to be good, and to give happiness. The law of God is love, and all would have been perfectly happy if they had obeyed it. The provision of the gospel for the forgiveness of sins and the salvation of sinners, in accordance with the glory and justice of God, show that God is love.

“Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.”
1 John 4:11 

Mystery and darkness still hang over many things. God has so shown that he is love that we cannot miss out on eternal happiness, except through unbelief and impenitence, even if strict justice condemns us to hopeless misery, because we violate the laws of our Creator. 

None of our words or thoughts can do justice to the free and amazing love of a holy God toward sinners, who could neither benefit nor harm Him, whom He could rightly crush in an instant, and whose merit of His vengeance was shown by the manner in which they were saved, when He could have, by His almighty word, created other worlds, with more perfect beings, if He had seen fit. Do we look throughout the universe for love in its most glorious manifestations? We only find it in the person and cross of Christ. 

“God’s love for us is the great motive for us to love one another.” 

Jean-Luc Trachsel

Is there love between God and sinners? The origin of it is not that we love God, but that He loves us freely. His love could not be designed to be sterile on us, and when its purpose and result are attained and produced, it can be said to be perfect. This faith is perfected by His works as it appears that God dwells in us by His Spirit of a new creation full of love. 

Love lubricates the wheels of our affections, and sets us on that which is useful for others. Those who are truly persuaded that they are the sons of God can only call Him Abba, Father. Out of love for Him, they hate sin and everything that opposes His will, and they have a healthy and sincere desire to do His will. Such a testimony is the testimony of the Holy Spirit who is a Spirit of love.