The Daily Fountain Daily Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 19 December 2019 – Vertical And Horizontal Love
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TOPIC: Vertical And Horizontal Love
READ: 1 John 4:12-21 (NKJV)
12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.
13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son [as] Savior of the world.
15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
19 We love Him because He first loved us.
20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God [must] love his brother also.
THE MESSAGE:
Love is the summary of the law; the law is divided into two, love for God and love for our neighbours. Whenever a child of God achieves the above, he/she is perfected in law. In our world today, almost everybody belongs to one Church or the other. We show much commitment to Church activities and claim to love God, yet many of us in our families, are at war with one another. It therefore becomes too difficult to reconcile our claims with our behaviours.
Love is only perfect when we love God and that love is manifested in our relationship with our neighbour. No one can claim to love God when he/she is in enmity with his/her brother. ‘If someone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?’ (I John 4:20). Show the love of Christ to all!
PRAYER: Father of love, may Your love for us compel us to love one another to prove to the world that we are Your disciples in Jesus Christ Name. Amen.
