Foolish Love - 1 John 4:12

 

No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 1 John 4:12

Divine Mistakes

Do I love others, especially other believers?

Do I?

Yes.

But oh boy, sometimes it’s such a faltering display. Looks like a duck landing on a frozen pond.

But it is there.

This verse opens with an interesting statement: No one has ever seen God. Then (in English), there’s a semi colon. That semi colon says that the clauses on either side of it are attached to each other. They go together. The punctuation functions as a conjunction without actually using words such as and, or, yet, or so.

So, here’s how I read this verse. No one has ever seen God. But here’s how people do see Him, if we love one another.

He chose faulty people to be His children and then told them to love one another and that loving each other would show that He lives.

Does it sound like God made a mistake as he was planning out the universe?

Well, you probably know me better than that.

No, of course, God doesn’t make mistakes.

What is Foolish

For some divine reason, He chose to use me to express His love. I am His love working. Christians loving each other are His love at work.

If we love one another, God lives in us. Lives in us. See that?

That’s humble power if I ever heard it.

1 Corinthians 1:26-30 says, “Brothers and sisters, consider your calling: Not many were wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth. Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world — what is viewed as nothing — to bring to nothing what is viewed as something, so that no one may boast in his presence. It is from him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God for us — our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

He picked shepherds to honor Him at his birth. He picked the humble Mary and Joseph to be His parents. He picked stinky fishermen to be his disciples.

And He has chosen me. This is His holy and righteous plan.

The verse in 1 John ends by saying, “God abides in us and His love is perfected in us.”

PerfectED. Not finished yet. He is still working on me. He didn’t goof up by picking me. I am part of His perfect plan. What?

Lord, I am not worthy. But thank you. You called me and you have patiently worked on me for decades. Sometimes, I am so selfish that the idea of loving someone else seems like the farthest thing from my mind. But when I drift into that fleshly thinking and life, you do your work. Scrubbing. Cleaning. Sweeping. And oh do I need it. Today. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.