Looking as Love

16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.

1 John 4:16-17 esv (emphasis added)

The last phrase in the New Living Translation reads like this: “but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.” We live like Jesus here in this world.” Wow. Selah.

What if we wake up every morning and knowing ourselves, choose to say, “I am love?”

I know my name, my address, where I work and serve. I know where I shop, where I go to exercise. I know what I drive or ride to get to all these places. And in all of these, I am love.

It’s kind of a jarring thought, right? To live AS love in the earth. Please, consider it. Let’s look closer at the passage above.

The Book of First John is about discernment and love. Verses 1-6 of chapter four challenge how we encounter truth. Believers in Jesus Christ should know the difference between truth and error, as well as what is true and false. And, who is true and false. (No pressure…) We learn how to do this — by Holy Spirit.

Verses 7-21 explore God’s love and God’s love in us in simple terms. I love that — these verses are so straightforward. There is no duplicity, hypocrisy, or confusion. These verses take us on a kind of learning journey, and we arrive at verse 16. It’s full of hope; we will come to a place where we know AND believe (this is important!) God loves us. Abiding in love is abiding in God. And this love of God is perfected in us for confidence in the day of judgment. Confidence because we live in this world as Christ.

We live as love and have confidence in our daily walk. Let’s try it one day, and wake up declaring “I am love.” I am living like Christ in the earth. I am patient. I am kind. I am humble. I am in control of my emotions. I am in love with the truth. I am compassion. I am LOVE.

---

Dr. Shaunta Scroggins is the founder of The Bereans’ Commentary.