1 John 4:1-21

Love Love Love

Virtually everyone from my generation who reads the words “Love Love Love” will instantly think of John Lennon’s song All You Need Is Love. Most Christians, at least the kind that I grew up around, didn’t think much of Mr Lennon nor his song. What could a long hair pot smoking rock ‘n roll hippy know about love. He can’t fool us. He’s really just talking about sex. That was the general line of thinking. How ironic that we seemed to think that those who truly knew about love were those who hated long hair pot smoking rock ‘n roll hippies. It is also interesting that his name was John.

I can’t say for certain how much John Lennon knew about love, though I am pretty sure he knew it was a great deal more than just sex. And for someone who likely didn’t know Jesus he was remarkable near the mark. 

John the disciple did know Jesus and he did know about love and he probably would have liked the song. John is often referred to as the Apostle of Love because he spends so much time talking about it in his writings. In his gospel he never calls himself by name, but rather by the consistent title: “The disciple whom Jesus loved”. This may seem a bit arrogant at first brush but that isn’t where he is coming from. John knew that he knew that Jesus loved him. He doesn’t say he was the disciple whom Jesus loved best. He simply knew that Jesus loved him and that knowledge was quite powerful.

Perfect love cast out all fear. Fear of judgment? Yes, but not just judgment; all fear. Love cast out fear of others, fear of failure, fear of loneliness, fear of strangers (including long hair pot smoking rock ‘n roll hippies, and aliens both legal and illegal), fear of that which we don’t understand, fear of death, fear of...everything. 

Therefore, we really are expected to love one another. We can love because He first loved us. So where does the power to love come from? Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.