I had an amazing dinner with some friends of mine, and we begin discussing a range of theological topics and perspectives. There was a sense of humility and peace that made it easy for us to discuss a range of perspectives and topics. We seemed to discover the beauty of how each one of us view God similarly but differently. One thing that I have been sitting with since this dinner was a question, we discussed, which was the following,
“What is God’s main essence or characteristic?”
Our answer to this question greatly impacts or perspectives and theology. For me, I feel God’s main essence or characteristic is LOVE. In 1 John 4:7-8 we read the following:
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.
This verse to me makes it clear that God’s main essence of characteristic is LOVE. The disciple John who wrote this letter, had a beautiful journey discovering the deepness of LOVE. Jesus once nicknamed him and his brother James, “Sons of Thunder,” because John was all about bringing the THUNDER when first following Jesus. He at one point, with his brother, wanted to call fire down from heaven to destroy a town that would not provide them with shelter. Through John’s time with Jesus his heart begins to change, and he was captured by the LOVE. I believe, he discovered this was God through his time with Jesus and diving into the implications of his life, death, and resurrection.
It is clear John changed which is shown through his leadership of the early church, especially in Ephesus where he spoke mostly of LOVE. Some early traditions report of John becoming too weak to walk, so he was caried to church meetings on a pallet. He would then whisper from his pallet, “Little children, love one another,” repeatedly. I believe John did this because he knew God was LOVE, which changed him from the inside out.
This Sunday I will be sharing a Nugget of Joy diving deeper into this fact and what the bible tells us LOVE is in 1 Corinthian 13:4-7. I hope one day we will all discover what John was able to which changed him from being a Son of Thunder to an old man who simply repeated, “Little children, love one another.” May we go from Thunder to LOVE like John…..
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