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By this is love perfected with us (1 John 4:17, ESV).
Everyone wants to know and experience love. But we often fail with love.
The Country Music industry thrives on this failure, making millions of dollars producing songs with lyrics like Morgan Wallen’s Chasin You…
Chasing that freedom, chasing that feeling that got gone too soon.
Chasing that you and me, I only see in my rear view.
Many consider the Apostle Paul’s 1 Corinthians chapter 13 the archetype description and definition of love in the Bible.
Yes, the language in 1 Corinthians 13 is beautiful and inspirational. Both Morgan Wallen and Carrie Underwood can’t compete with phrases like “love is patient, love is kind” or “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
But while 1 Corinthians 13 contains artistic language, the Apostle John in 1 John 4:7-21 gives more practical advice for growing in love. John says, “God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:12).
The Apostle Paul describes love, and country stars sing about losing this love, but John teaches us how to perfect our love. Let’s look at three points found in 1 John 4:7-21 that will help us experience beautiful, long-lasting, and perfect love.
First: The phrase “God is love” appears only twice in the Bible, both times in 1 John 4, verses 8 and 16.
Only when we understand that God is love and that love isn’t God can we grow in love. Love isn’t a fleeting feeling that consumes us for a moment and then floats away, but a representation of the very nature of God, who created us in His image for love!
Second: The Greek word “agape,” translated as “love,” is used 25 times in the 14 verses of 1 John 4:7-21. This passage contains the most condensed teaching on love in the entire Bible.
What is also unusual about “agape” is that the word is found only once in ancient literature outside the New Testament. The concept of love in the New Testament is so radical that its authors had to make up a new word for it.
Third: Our current culture of despair and depression should memorize 1 John 4:7…
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.
What can we fear if we love God more than anything? What do we fear in all the earth if we love an awesome and sovereign God? What can we fear, even in the failure and betrayal of relationships, if our first love is God?
Only the Bible teaches and explains the love we all want and the love we were created in God’s image to experience.
Watch romantic movies, cry with country songs, and be consumed by TikTok® videos showing lust masquerading as love, but to truly practice and perfect love…
Read 1 John 4:7-21!