1 John 4:11 --- Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
John has talked a great deal about love by this point and he is really good at repeating/re-emphasizing certain words or themes. There is of course a very good reason for this but if you aren't really listening as you read, it becomes easy to skim over or breeze past things.
It has been solidly established by this point in 1 John that it's not only a command we love our brothers and sisters, but it is also an indicator of if we abide in the Lord and He abides in us. It's one of the tests to KNOW that we KNOW Jesus and are walking in His light.
When I first came to this verse today, I read it. Nodded in agreement, then moved on to verse 12 to study it. However, when I got to verse 12, I just kept being nudged back to 11. Over and over, until finally I refocused on verse 11 and the word "OUGHT" jumped right off the page.
Ought - according to Merriam-Webster is: obligation, advisability, natural expectation, or logical consequence.
Ought - in the Greek is opheilō and is: to owe, to be under obligation, bound by duty or necessity, to do something. (Used thus of a necessity imposed either by law and duty, or by reason, or by the times, or by the nature of the matter under consideration)
Up to this point in my time with the Lord in 1 John this word has now been used a total of 3 times.
1 John 2:6 --- whoever says he abides in Him OUGHT to walk in the same way in which he walked.
1 John 3:16 --- By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we OUGHT to lay down our lives for the brothers/sisters.
Then today we arrive at the final OUGHT:
1 John 4:11 --- Beloved, if God so loved us, we also OUGHT to love one another.
So here are three things we as Christians are obligated, bound by duty to do…
1. Walk in the same way Jesus Christ walked. (We aren't and never will be perfect, but we better be studying how Jesus walked in the Word and get our feet headed in the same direction!)
2. Lay down our lives for the brothers/sisters. (Lay it down by living for or dying for your brothers/sisters. It can be harder to live for someone as it requires daily sacrifice of self and your resources, time, energy, worldly goods, etc…)
3. Love one another. (If you are going to the Lord every day and being filled with His agape, selfless, sacrificial love, it is your duty, your obligation to now love your brothers/sisters.)
These are some heavy things to think about. There is a duty, an obligation, to receiving such unfathomable love, mercy, and grace. The beauty of it is if you are truly walking in the light, abiding in Him, filling up on His agape love every single day, intentionally going after Him, then you'll find you have an abundance of all you need to carry out your duty, fulfill your obligation and pay the required debt!!
If you're struggling with any of the OUGHTS, you need to run, don't walk, don't put it off, sprint to Jesus! Pray, talk to Him, get into the Word and listen for His voice. Jesus said His sheep will know His voice. Go hear it, get to know it. Go back through 1 John chapters 1, 2, 3 and set that rock solid assurance that you KNOW that you KNOW Him. Don't wait. Don't be deceived. Run to Jesus.
Okay last few things. Luke 14:27-33 was on my heart. Here Jesus talks about counting the cost following Him. He gives examples of building a tower and a king about to go to war and how important it is to count the cost of these things. He directs us that we need to be aware of the cost of following Him. A cost you've seen outlined above.
Now I close with something from Spurgeon and from Guzzik on receiving God's love and our obligation.
"Has anybody offended you? Seek reconciliation. “Oh, but I am the offended party.” So was God, and he went straight away and sought reconciliation. Brother, do the same. “Oh, but I have been insulted.” Just so: so was God: all the wrong was towards him, yet he sent. “Oh, but the party is so unworthy.” So are you; but “God loved you and sent his Son.”" ~ (Spurgeon)
"If we do not love one another, how can we say that we have received the love of God and have been born of Him? Love is the proof we are taught to look for. If you had a pipe that was clogged – water kept going into it, but never came out, that pipe would be useless. You would replace it. Just so, God puts His love into our lives that it might flow out. We want the Lord to clear us and fill us so that His love can flow through us." ~ (Guzzik)
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