”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.
1 John 4:9New International Version (NIV)
1 John 4:9 Devotional (Daily Bible Verse)
Love is Shown
1 John 4:9 tells you and me that “Love is shown“. This is because God showed His love among us. In this way, He proved His unilateral and unconditional love by sending His Son into this world to die for our sins. And this is the truth that the Bible keeps on stressing.
This, therefore, means that love cannot only be spoken (verbalized). It must be demonstrated (shown).
In other words, love is action. And our acts of love are measured against the standard of God’s love, by the extent to which He loved us.
God loved us
Remember, the Bible tells us that God loved us to the point of sacrificing His Son on the cross for our sins. That is, God loved us in a sacrificial manner. This is because the sacrifice of His Son points to sacrificial action.
Therefore, the genesis of love is God. He demonstrated his love in the most sacrificial of ways. He gave His one and only Son as a sacrifice for the sin of the world, thereby as a ransom for the world. That is, God sent His one and only Son for sinners.
A sinner
A sinner is someone who has wronged God. Someone who has broken God’s law and become guilty in His sight. Thus, he or she is separated from God for being in opposition to God. And deserving of God’s wrath and condemnation for they stand under His curse.
But aren’t we all sinners (Romans 3:23)? We are all the people who necessitated the coming of Christ. And Apostle Paul rightly put it this way: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Prayer/Blessing
Lord God, I thank You for Your sacrificial love towards me. I am humbled that You love me this way. I bless Your Name in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Daily Bible Reading
2 Kings 14-15 (see How to Read the Bible in One Year or How to Read the Bible (for Beginners))
