Growing in God’s Love.
How wonderful it is that God loves us so much. Something interesting is that He also wants us to love one another. We must love our neighbor with this agape love that we have been talking about. With this deep love that puts the needs of others above our own, and He wants us to grow in this love always.
Let’s read some verses in 1 John 4. V 7 says, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” (NIV) God certainly wants us to love one another.
The question then is, how can we grow in this love? Let’s read verses 10 and 19. Verse 10 says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his
Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (NIV) In other words, he loved us first. Verse 19 says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (NIV) We love because he loved us and now loves us, and we have experienced this love. When we understand that God loves us and experience this love, then this gives us the freedom and power to love others. With this high love, agape. Because we have received his love in our lives, we can grow in love toward others.
Another important thing is in v. 16. It says, “And we have come to know and believe that God loves us. God is love. Whoever remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.” (NIV) If we are living in him, we will naturally love, because he is love.
Look at what John 15:4-5 says. It says, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, as I in him, will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (NIV)
How wonderful if we remain in him, he will produce fruit in our lives and through our lives. Galatians 5:22 says that one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is love. So, when we remain in him, we will grow in this fruit of love.
We remain in him through prayer and worship. Through the Word and by spending a lot of time in a good church, and sharing a lot with other believers. That is a way to grow in love toward others.
I John 4:21 says, “And he has given us this commandment: that he who loves God should love his brother.” (NIV)
It is God’s commandment that we love those around us.
When we do that, we will grow in this love. As we practice this love for others, we do so by being kind to everyone, by helping them in whatever way we can, and by always caring for them. Evangelizing is another way of loving, sharing the good news of salvation through Jesus with others. Praying for them, serving them, always trying to love them. When we do this, we will grow in this love, agape.
The good news is, if you need love, the love of God, He is there to love and help you.