1 John 4
7 Dear friends,
let us love one another, because love comes from God. Whoever loves is a child
of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know
God, for God is love ……. if this is how God loved us, then we should love one
another. 12 No one has ever seen God, but if we love one
another, God lives in union with us, and his love is made perfect in us.
These
remarkable words come to us across the millennia written either by a very old
man, or by those closest to him and they still have the power to shock us into
seeing things very clearly. The man was the disciple “whom Jesus loved”, John.
In recent
months we have all been appalled by sights on our television screens, scenes of
explosion and horror. We see scenes of dreadful things being done in the name
of religion and faith.
Here is the litmus test. Do
you want to know what the mark is of real
faith? It is the way that we deal with each other.
It is very simple, to be
recognised as a Christian, we need live in
love. How do we do this? I recently heard a revealing interview with a
holocaust survivor recounting the time when she publicly forgave a doctor who
had experimented on her in Auschwitz as a child knowing that apart from her
twin, the rest of her family had been gassed to death. For her it was quite
simple …. “I would much rather get a hug
and a kiss from him than what I used to get”………. Remarkable. She passed the litmus test.
Coincidentally, though
this is the lectionary reading, we are looking at 1 John at the manse home
group during June (Tuesdays 9th and 23rd @ 7.30 pm and
Wednesdays 10th and 24th @ 2.30 pm), we always have lively
discussions and a time for sharing. Be nice to see you there
Alan
