Roger Lynn
September 6, 2020
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I confess that I was tempted to stand up, read a few select verses from the First John text, and sit down. It just seems like there’s not a lot of commentary required. “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. . . Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. . . God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. . . Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars. . . The commandment we have from Christ is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.” Maybe throw in a few verses from the Gospel of John, just for good measure. “As God has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept God’s commandments and abide in God’s love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
It is an approach to life and faith which is deeply rooted in the understanding that God is all about love. Everything else flows from that truth. We find meaning and purpose and direction for our living when we stay connected to the source of Love. In both John’s Gospel and the letter of First John, the word “abide” represents an important theme. It has to do with how God relates to us and how we relate to God. The concept shows up in the very first chapter of John’s Gospel when we hear, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” There is a translation that puts it this way, “...and pitched a tent among us.” John wants to make it abundantly clear that the God who we see revealed in the life of Jesus desires to be in close, intimate relationship with us. Abide is a relational word. It is a community word. It describes a central characteristic of God.
But this business of abiding is a two-way street. It may be God’s desire to abide with us, but unless we cooperate and seek to abide with God the outcome is greatly diminished. And it is this concept which give both of today’s texts their power. When we stay plugged in to God’s love it shows in how we relate with the rest of the world. It serves as both a promise and a warning. Because we have God in our lives, it is possible to be loving human beings for each other. And when we notice that our responses to each other are less than loving, it is a clear indication that we are out of touch with God. The writer of 1 John puts is so clearly – “Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars.”
It is, in fact, how we recognize God’s love among us. It is how we respond to God’s love within us. God’s love remains ethereal and intangible unless and until it finds expression in our love for each other. If our lives do not show evidence of love, then we have largely missed the point.
It is important to remember that the love we are talking about here is not some mushy, sappy feeling. It isn’t all hearts and candy and Hallmark cards. The love of God which we are called to demonstrate in our lives is a concrete, active verb. It is about working for the well-being of others. It is about not being afraid to get our hands dirty. It is a fairly simple concept. “Love one another.” It is immensely difficult to accomplish in a consistent and ongoing sort of way. Which is why we cannot begin with the loving. We must begin instead with the abiding. It is only when we allow ourselves to fully embrace the God of love who fully embraces us that we will find ourselves inspired and empowered to love each other in response.
And now, having talked longer than was probably necessary to say, “Love one another,” I’m going to be quiet. But the sermon isn’t over yet. I invite you to spend the next few moments filling in the details. Picture in your mind someone whom you have difficulty loving. Reflect on what it would look like for you to love that person. Be as specific as possible. Then reflect on how staying connected to the God of love might begin to transform that love into reality.
May the God of love continue to abide with us, and may we learn to abide with God, so that we might begin to truly love one another. Amen.
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