Love for God

by Neil Bergmann

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We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands (1 John 2:3).

Read 1 John 2:1–6

In John’s Gospel, we have seen Jesus describe himself as the light of the world (John 8:12) and as the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). We are called to be children of the light (John 12:36) and to know that the truth will set you free (John 8:32). We believe that we can do nothing ourselves to achieve justification. Jesus has achieved everything for us through the cross of Good Friday and the empty tomb of Easter morning.

So, what is John talking about here? Verse four in our reading says: ‘Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.’ There seems to be a lot of condemning law and not much reassuring gospel here.

To understand how such a passage helps us, we need some Lutheran theology. The law (God’s commands) has three uses. First, the law gives some guidance for civil society. Our society’s laws should limit violence, murder, theft, and promote justice and peace in line with God’s law. Second, the law is a mirror that shows our sin so that we know we cannot be right before God through our own goodness. The third use of the law – the use we are interested in here – is that it acts as a guide for Christians to live godly lives: to live as children of the light.

Here, I think it is useful to zoom out to the broadest view of the law – to love God and to love your neighbours. If we want to show that we know God, to show that we are living as children of the light, to show that we are living in God’s truth, then we should be living lives of love. This is not about choosing to do ‘the right thing’ even when we’d much rather be doing something fun. It is about letting the Holy Spirit transform us into a new creation, where we find that living God’s command to love is actually what we want to do.

To do this, we should follow John the Baptist’s advice regarding Jesus (John 3:30): ‘He must increase, but I must decrease.’ We are called to surrender our own ego, pride and selfish ambitions, allowing Jesus Christ to be the primary focus and authority in our lives. Then we are truly and fully human.

Lord, help me overcome my ego, pride and ambition, and instead let your love guide my thoughts and actions. Amen.

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