So, after a number of articles from the letters of John, what do we do with what we have learned from them?
Well, since Mark Scott (from the 1717 study guide, cited below) says that the word “love” shows up 27 times in just 1 John 4:7-21, and a quick search of my original lesson prepared on that passage showed upwards of 90 occurrences, I suspect that our next steps must have to do with love.
While it might seem like a pat answer to suggest that we should love God and love other people, this concept is repeated a lot not only because it’s true, but also because it is fundamental to the Christian walk. When the Bible refers to commands like these as often as it does, across as many generations as it does, we must pay attention.
However, we must not treat these principles as things that we merely will ourselves to do. While we can make good choices, I don’t think that we are going to be very successful unless we draw closer and closer to God. For one thing, we can’t fully understand the love of God until we get to know Him and His perfect example of love. For another thing, without God’s help (like the direction of the Holy Spirit) we’re not going to love like He does, anyway. After all, God “is the source of all love” [Womack, p.113]
As someone wrote, “As we grow in our relationship with God, we will appreciate his love more and will learn to express our love.” [Womack, p.113]
So, how do we draw closer to God? A “Sunday School answer” would be something like “Read the Bible, go to church, and pray”, and that’s not a bad start. However, let me suggest three things to take with you today, which complement the classic “Sunday School answer”:
- Listen to God. Read the Bible (i.e., God’s word). Find time that is quiet enough to hear His direction, and don’t keep talking throughout your entire time with Him (this is tough for me to do personally, but it’s important). Pause and give the Holy Spirit a chance to prompt you before you speak to others. Whatever it looks like, take in more of God’s word to you, not only to learn facts or even to learn His commandments, but also to learn about who He is and what He is like.
- Let Him guide you. When God gives you direction, He often gives you a choice: go His way or go your own way. If you’ve gotten to know God, you know which decision is better. You know that the right choice isn’t always easy. However, you also know that an amazing journey awaits you if you take the doors that God opens for you, rather than crawling through windows into where you know you shouldn’t be.
- Look for ways to love others. Sometimes, we have this idea that to follow God, we have to travel to faraway lands and become a missionary, or earn a Bible college degree so that we can debate atheists on street corners, or to be thrown into a fiery furnace for our faith. In reality, though, sometimes obeying God by loving others is just holding a door, or lending an ear, or picking something up that was dropped on the floor. Sometimes obeying God is just telling someone the truth, like why you show love to them because God loves you, or the fact that Jesus can help them when no one else can. Don’t just look “elsewhere” for opportunities to love others: keep an eye out right where you are.
I like what Mark Scott wrote about becoming more “…‘complete’ or ‘mature.’ With God’s help (his indwelling Spirit), we certainly can love more completely”.
Listen to God. Let Him guide you. Look for ways to love others. And, remember this verse:
We love because he first loved us.
1 John 4:19 NIV
From Sunday School lesson prepared for March 9, 2025
References:
- 1717 Bible Studies, 1, 2, and 3 John, © 2025 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – 1, 2 & 3 John, by Morris M. Womack. © 1998 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 