In this the love of God was made manifest among us… 1 John 4:9
We live in a fallen world of sickness and death, so where can you look to see the love of God, and how do you know that it is true?
“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him” (4:9). John gets more specific about what is involved: God “loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (4:10). Here is how that love reaches you: “We have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us” (4:16).
So, a Christian is a person who is able to say, “I know that God loves me. I believe this. The love of God for me is clear every time I look at Jesus.” When you believe the love of God made known in His Son, Jesus Christ, then you will experience this love of God in your heart.
Imagine two friends talking. Mary says, “I know God’s love in my head, but not in my heart.”
Her friend, Sarah, says, “Tell me about the love of God that’s in your head.”
Mary stumbles around and says, “You know, Jesus died for our sin and all that.”
So Sarah asks her, “Do you have any sin?”
Mary says, a bit defensively, “Well, nobody’s perfect.”
Sarah says, “That’s not what I mean. Do you have any sins that would damn you to an eternal hell where you are separated from God and from His love forever?”
If you have never felt that you have sins that would damn you to hell, it will be very difficult for you to feel that what Jesus did at the cross was significant for you.
You may not be able to see God’s love in the world because of its rebellion against Him, but you can see God’s love for you in God’s Son.
Do you know God’s love for you? Do you believe He loves you?
