How many know what you originally relied upon became a disappointment? The friend that wasn’t a friend. The spouse that promised but only used words. The security of that job that you were made redundant from. These chapters pose the question whether you can truly rely on anyone?
John, the apostle of love, tells his Church members something that we need reminding of today:
“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” 1 John 4 v 16
‘We know’ … John’s Church. ‘We know’ … this is not general knowledge. John’s ‘Antichrists’ who dethrone Jesus and withdraw their love for others do not know this. But you do, we know. We have experienced this knowing for ourselves. God is still there. The God I came to know as a child is the God I know many years later. He hasn’t moved though I have moved many times. He is still here. This I know and because you and I know this then we know He can be relied upon.
We know that God’s love is perfect and it does not rely on any of our conduct whatsoever. You do not know this love because you are perfect and sinless. You know this love because you are a sinner loved by God. I still hear Christians believing their performance has something to do with their reliance on Him. The enemy of our soul wants to strip us of our confidence and to quieten our voice simply because he knows what will happen if we know. He wants to do away with our voice, to take our voice away, to quieten it at least. So he will remind you of your sin and say you cannot possibly continue.
But the fight back is not because we are sinless but because we can rely on the love of God for us as we are sinners. Not that we abuse this knowing and reliance on His love but neither are we submitting to being abused because our fallen, sinful nature is not good enough.
We know and we rely.
Missions Paul 