FIRST RESPONDERS

1 John 4:7-19

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%204%3A7-19&version=NIV;NLT

 

 

In high school, there was this kid named Blake who was a bully; a bad kid. On the other hand, I tried to get along with everyone; a good kid. The good and the bad were about to get ugly.

 

One day after school, Blake and I ended up on the athletic fields behind the school. I wouldn’t fight anyone because I was a chicken, but Blake bullied me into it. By the time I had pinned him to the ground, another student came along and said he’d take over. Blake didn’t have many friends, and I was happy to be done.

 

I don’t remember disliking Blake. For the most part, he was off my radar until this incident. One thing for sure though, I avoided him from that point forward.

 

John wrote his letter to address false teachers of the day. They didn’t believe that Jesus was the incarnate son of God. Instead, they believed that the body was evil, so in their minds, God couldn’t come in human form. As a result, some would treat their bodies harshly while others lived licentiously without moral constraint.

 

⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God,

but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us… ¹⁹ We love because he first loved us.            NIV

 

God loved us while we were still a sinner; His enemy really. Blake comes to mind. Maybe if instead of avoiding him I had tried to befriend him, we both would have changed. Or maybe I just would have got my butt kicked.

 

The question for us is, how do we treat those that God has brought into our lives? Do we love them because He loved us? Or do we avoid them because they are annoying? Or mistreat them because they offended us in some way? Or do we manipulate them because we want something?

 

Take some time to think about your relationships and how you treat others: your family, friends, co-workers and even strangers. Are you loving others because He first loved you? Are you one of God’s first responders to share His love?