Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us and his love is made complete in us. —1 John 4:7-12
God designed us to exist within
“Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” —1 John 4:7-8
“God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” —Romans 5:5
“God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another.” —1 John 4:9-11
Loving relationships are
“No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us and his love is made complete in us.” —1 John 4:12
Through healthy relationships, God’s love is made
Spend time considering your relationships:
God
Family
Church
Others
Self
“No one person can fulfill all your needs. But the community can truly hold you. The community can let you experience the fact that, beyond your anguish, there are human hands that hold you and show you God’s faithful love.” —Henri Nouwen
“We do not find our true self by seeking it. Rather, we find it by seeking God.” —David Benner
For further study:
Scripture: Matthew 22:37-40; John 15:1-5; Ephesians 2:11-22
Resources: “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community” by the US Public Health Service; “The Relational Soul” by Rich Plass and Jim Cofield; “The Gift of Being Yourself” by David Benner
Community Group Guide:
Read through the passage in two different translations.
As you heard the Scripture, what stood out to you?
How are relationships essential to love?
Describe an example of a healthy, reciprocal relationship?
How has God’s love helped you become more your true self?
What relationships is God inviting you to focus on in 2024?
To prepare for next week: Meditate upon 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24