Living in God's Perfect Love
๐ช๐๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ฃ
โข What are some things you do to show a person that you love them, care about them, or think about them? Why are these important to you?
โข Who is one person you look up to or want to be like? Why?
โข What are your fears or worries? What do you do to face them?
๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐
๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ช๐ง ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ด, ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ญ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ. ๐๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ; ๐ช๐ง ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ถ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ง๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ถ๐ด. ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐๐ก ๐ฐ:๐ญ๐ญโ๐ญ๐ฎ
(Read also ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐๐ก ๐ฐ.)
In one of his letters, the apostle John repeats the same exhortation to his readers: ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ. Though this may seem challenging to do, it is possible only through God, who is the source of love Himself. Today, letโs look at how Godโs love changes us as we abide and trust in Him.
๐ญ. ๐๐ผ๐ฑโ๐ ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐.
๐๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ; ๐ช๐ง ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ถ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ง๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ถ๐ด.ย ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐๐ก ๐ฐ:๐ญ๐ฎ
Godโs love isnโt meant to remain with us alone. Loving God and loving others go hand-in-hand. As we continue to walk in His ways, we learn to love others. When we do so, Godโs love reaches its intended purpose through us. Loving others is evidence that Godโs love is alive and active in us. How have you learned to love others as you love God?
๐ฎ. ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ฑ.ย
๐๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ถ๐ด, ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐จ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ถ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ต. ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ง๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ง๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ถ๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ, ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ. ๐๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ถ๐ด. ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ด ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ.ย ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐๐ก ๐ฐ:๐ญ๐ฏโ๐ญ๐ฒ
One way to know what the parents of a household are like is to look at their children. The words and actions kids express often reflect the personality and character of their parents and guardians. This picture gives us an idea of what a relationship with God looks like. God abides in us and we are to abide in Him. When we rely on His love and are rooted and secure in it, God and His love are settled in us as well. We abound in His love. Though loving others may seem like a command, loving others becomes natural when we truly love God. What qualities have you learned about God as you trusted in His love for you and others?
๐ฏ. ๐๐ป๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐ฑโ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ.ย
๐๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ง๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ถ๐ด, ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐บ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ง๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ซ๐ถ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต, ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ข๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ข๐ญ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ง๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ด ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ง๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ. ๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ง๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ.ย ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐๐ก ๐ฐ:๐ญ๐ณโ๐ญ๐ด
Oftentimes, it is not easy to love others or ourselves. Fear and insecurity can easily creep in and plant lies in our hearts. But Godโs ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ง๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ด ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ง๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ, giving us confidence in His presence and in judgment. The more we trust in Godโs love, the less fear controls our lives. When we wholeheartedly trust Godโs love, we no longer operate on a reward-punishment system. His love transforms us, enabling us to love others and obey His commands without fear of punishment or thinking of earning rewards. This is why we can do everything out of love because God is our ultimate reward. How has Godโs love helped you overcome fear?
๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
โข What does living in Godโs love look like for you? Give examples of these.
โข What are your fears or concerns? How may Godโs love help you overcome these?
โข Are there people in your life who operate on a reward-punishment system? How may you share about Godโs transforming love to them this week?
๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ
โข Thank God that His love is being perfected in us as we abide in Him and love others.
โข Pray that you would experience the joy, peace, and freedom that Godโs love brings every day. Pray that God would remove every fear that hinders you from trusting in His love.
โข Pray that God would use your words and actions to help others experience His love. Pray that your life would be a living testimony of Godโs love.