A Church that Loves like Jesus

What does it truly mean to love the way God loves? In this message drawn from 1 John 4:7-12, we are invited to examine the very source of genuine love and discover that it does not originate in us. The love we are called to show one another flows directly from God himself, poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. The passage makes a striking claim: the presence or absence of love in our lives is a telltale sign of whether we truly know God. This is not a comfortable idea, but it is a clarifying one. If we find it easy to withhold affection, to harbor resentment, or to remain indifferent to the needs of those around us, the text challenges us to ask whether we have genuinely encountered the transforming love of Christ. The love described in 1 Corinthians 13 is not a passive feeling but an active, patient, enduring commitment that mirrors the way God has treated us. As we reflect on these truths, we are pushed to consider whether our relationships, both inside and outside the community of faith, bear the marks of a heart that has been changed by the gospel.