Love One Another (1 John 4:11-18)
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.
This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit. Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.
God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.
Meditation
No one has ever seen God. (1 John 4:12)
John’s statement may seem out of place in his chapter about loving one another. What does God’s invisibility have to do with our call to love our neighbor?
When Jesus walked the earth, he visibly demonstrated the love of God: “The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him” (John 1:18). Now that Jesus has ascended to heaven, we can make Jesus’ love visible when we “love one another” (1 John 4:12), because “whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him” (4:16). John is telling us that whenever we love each other, God’s love is present. In our words and acts of love, the unseen God himself is made visible.
Think of all the people who doubt the existence of God. They may have attended Mass years ago but stopped going because they never felt his closeness there. Or maybe they prayed for something but gave up on the Lord when they didn’t get what they asked for. Or they couldn’t understand why God allows evil to persist in the world. Whatever their situation, they can experience the Lord through someone like you.
Everyone longs to know that God loves them, that he sees their pain, and that he hears their prayers and wants to answer the longings of their hearts. And God wants you to show them the way. As a saying attributed to St. Teresa of Ávila reminds us, “Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”
You may think that the best way to show God’s love is through dramatic gestures or extravagant gifts. And that can certainly be effective. But anyone in a relationship that has stood the test of time can testify that it’s not grandiose gestures that keep a marriage or a friendship strong. It’s the little things. Like greeting someone by name. Cleaning the dishes without being asked. Remembering someone’s birthday or anniversary or bereavement date. Picking up their favorite food. Calling an out-of-state friend to stay connected. Taking time to listen to a neighbor.
As you make these simple efforts, you will be making God’s love visible. Sometimes you may have occasion for grand gestures of his mercy and kindness. But most often God is asking you to make him known in consistent, small ways. Today, be on the lookout for opportunities to do just that!
“Lord Jesus, help me to show your love today.”