Again he’s emphasizing love.  He says love is of God and that God is love.  He says everyone that loves is born of God and knows God and he that doesn’t love doesn’t know God.  That’s a pretty heavy statement to say that he who doesn’t love doesn’t know God.

The Kingdom of God operates in love.  Galatians 5:6 says that faith works by love.  1 Corinthians 13:13 says that out of faith, hope and love—love is the greatest.  We love to talk about faith and hope because we receive something through them.  But we feel that love requires us to give up something.  Love doesn’t require that we give up something, but it may require that we give something.  If you give away a couch then you no longer have a couch but the thing about God’s love is that when you give it away, you are not left without it and you receive more in return.

We value the love of God because we realize how great it is and how good we feel now that we’ve received it, but to love others doesn’t mean we give the love of God away and now we are without it.  No!  We give it away but it’s multiplied to us just as when Jesus fed the 5000.  Don’t think to love others means that you are left without love. It’s just the opposite!

Confession:

I will love others.  I know that God is love and I will love others with God’s love that’s been given to me.  I know that as I love others it doesn’t mean I am left without love.