“This is how love is made complete among us so that we
will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There
is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do
with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because
he first loved us.” – 1 John 4:17-19 NIV
First of all, we ought to know that God is
love, for love comes from God (1 John 4:7-8). This means that if we are
being made perfect in Christ Jesus, then our lives should filled with the love
of God that we do not need to fear of anything. This because if we are followers
of Jesus Christ, then we know that God is our Protector and Provider (Romans 8:31-39). The main reasons for these
are that God is the Creator (Genesis 1:1) and we are His Creations (Genesis 1:27), as the word of God states, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in
it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and
established it on the waters.” (Psalm 24:1-2) Therefore, since we cannot
hide our faces from God (Hebrews 4:13), we should trust and believe
in Him with everything (Proverbs 3:5-8) Furthermore, if we are
being made perfect in love, we should be able to show the same kind of love one
that Jesus has among us, and to spread the love of God all around us (1 John 4:11-12). To be more specific, we
have to spread God’s love to others, in order to transform the world how God
wants it to be. “For in him all things
were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created
through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold
together.” (Colossians 1:16-17)
Shout for joy to
the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with
joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we
are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates
with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his
name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness
continues through all generations. (Psalm 100)
Therefore, we have to work on the fruit of
the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) to be made perfect in
love. The main reason for this is that loving others is the law of the Spirit (Romans 13:8-10) Because of this, we must
stay connected to the vine which is Jesus Christ!
I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off
every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear
fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already
clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also 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.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you,
you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do
not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such
branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in
me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done
for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing
yourselves to be my disciples.
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my
love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have
kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that
my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this:
Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay
down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I
command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his
master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I
learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose
you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will
last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is
my command: Love each other. (John 15:1-17)
Iin my circumstances,
I know that God’s love is not made complete within me. This is because I had
been lazy to do today’s devotional, due to the fact that I felt no desire to do
devotional-writing. However, 2 Timothy 4:1-2 had been lingering to my
mind. Those verses declare, “In the
presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead,
and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach
the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and
encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.” In addition to
this, I did not give it up, even though a lot of time had been passed by
because I know that Christian-writing is the will of God. Furthermore, I am
kind of afraid that I will not be able to enter the kingdom of heaven at the
end of the age. Hence, I believe that really need to abide in the Spirit and
the Word of God. Most importantly, I should trust Him until the end of the age,
even if I cannot understand what is going on within me (Proverbs 3:5-8). In addition to this, I
also should remain confident in Him since I know that I am a God’s child (Ephesians 3:12).
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