TL;DR:
1 John 4:7 reminds us that love comes from God and is an essential mark of authentic Christian faith. In a hurting, divided world where people often cry out, “Who cares?”, this verse assures us that God does care—and that we, as His followers, must show the same love to others. The page also includes reflection questions, five takeaways, and some noteworthy quotations about 1 John 4:7 by biblical scholars.
What does the call to love one another in 1 John 4:7 mean in a fractured world where “us” and “them” fences and walls are everywhere?
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” — 1 John 4:7
An 11-year-old faces bitter disappointment. "Aw, who cares anyway?" he blurts out tearfully.
"Who cares anyway?" cries a young wife and mother as her marriage dissolves. Voicing the same hollow question is a drug addict, unable to escape the trap of his addiction. "Who cares anyway?" is also the cry of an elderly widower living out his last years alone.
Does anybody care? … really care?
"Yes," responds the apostle John. In fact, he uses much of his First Epistle to remind us how much God does care for us. But he doesn't stop there. Because God has loved us, we should also love one another. A caring, perfected love is, for John, one of the tests of true Christianity.
What a contrast the Christian lifestyle must present to the moral indifference of our times. But it's not always easy. Once in a while, I even ask myself if we fully understand what it means for God’s love to be perfected in us: “Where God’s love is, there is no fear, because God’s perfect love takes away fear” (1 John 4:18, International Children's Bible).
For example, while we were living in Florence, Italy, the Lord brought 15-year-old Francesca into our lives.
Francesca's alcoholic father had died a couple of years before, and Francesca's mother found herself unable to cope with the belligerent, strong-willed teenager. By the time we met her, Francesca already had a year-old son.
Our hearts went out to them, and for some time, we tried to help in whatever way we could. But in the end, Francesca took advantage of the hospitality of the “rich Americans.” She stole a month's salary from us and walked out of our lives, undoubtedly still feeling that nobody really cared.
We were sorry it ended that way. Losing the money was a temporary, though very real, financial problem. We were sorry that our love was spurned. But what disturbed us most were the scolding reactions we received from a few people.
Well, you shouldn't have let people like that in your home in the first place!
Left unsaid but sometimes implied was: It serves you right for being so stupid. What did you expect?
I have real trouble with this negative reaction to our attempts to share God's love. It doesn't fit into 1 John 4 very well.
John seems to say that loving is an obligation for us because of God's initiative. Indeed, doesn't our very power to love come from God?
A far more compassionate response to our loss came from a retired Italian railroad worker and his wife. They did not scold us for our stupidity or carelessness. What they said was, How can we help you? We don't have much, but you're welcome to be our guests for meals until next month.
What does all this mean? Am I trying to tell you that you have to lose a month's salary every so often in order to live up to 1 John 4?
No, but I am convinced that through these words of John, the Holy Spirit of God is calling us to pattern our love for others after God’s self-giving love. I don't know what doing that might cost you.
Who cares? God did and does. And because of His presence in us, so must we.
I wrote this devotional blog while Barbara and I were serving as missionaries in Italy. It is one of a series of 52 brief devotionals published in The Standard, a weekly take-home resource for adult Sunday school classes in the Faith Connections curriculum produced by The Foundry.
Here are five important takeaways from 1 John 4:7:
In short, 1 John 4:7 encapsulates the essence of Christian faith. It holds up love as a fundamental principle. Such love is rooted in God's nature and manifested in the relationships among believers.
