"This is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love each other as he commanded us." 1 John 3:23
I woke up too early this morning and had gone to bed too tired last night, which left me in a funk. Then the Lord stepped in and asked me to read 1 John 3 in preparation for my Sunday school class for the kids this Sunday.
Bible Gateway is my 'go-to' bible of late and I really appreciate how it coordinates with clickable FREE references on the sidelines! This morning I read this from the ESV Reformation Bible, regarding 1 John 3:23:
this is his commandment.
The two parts of this commandment parallel the two parts of the Ten
Commandments, reminding us that our relationship with God takes
precedence over our relationship with our neighbor. Faith in Christ
relates us rightly to God, and His renewing grace enables us to love one
another.
My eyes (and heart) zeroed in on that ending note about His renewing grace. Upon further reflection though, that is only half of what the sentence reads. It actually states two parts; 1. Faith in Christ and then 2. His renewing grace. Without faith in Christ and a right relationship (having a fully confessed presence) do we ever find His renewing grace, and THEN is when we are able to love one another with a right love (motivated and intentional).
And that is the delicate dance that we mere mortals dance. Finding balance in a right relationship with God through Christ enables us to love those around us (with skin on).
Am I ever going to get this two-step process in my head? I find myself out of balance at times because business (or sometimes laziness) has thrown me out of sync with my Savoir and then I try to love others in my own strength and find that my attempts at love are forced or conditional.
The older I get the more I realize that God is love. Right love. Holy love. Perfect love.
