The Love Cycle (May 5, 2024) 1 John 5.1-5

If I were to ask, “Where do you find the greatest treatment of love in the Bible?” most people would answer 1 Corinthians 13. Now, you would be correct as 1 Corinthians 13 is one of the greatest chapters on love. But if I were to say, “Where can one find an even more detailed exposition on love?”, how many of us would answer 1 John? I know that I would not. I believe this is because 1 John (and the other general letters aside from Hebrews) get what I like to call “The Minor Prophets Treatment”. This treatment is that these books get put on a second-class rating in many people’s minds. And why is that? For the prophet books, it is the unfortunate name given to them: The Minor Prophets. For the general letters of the New Testament, it is (in my opinion) because they are short. There are no powerful arguments stretched over the length of a long letter like Romans. There seem to be no scandalous happenings going on in this church (think the Corinthian letters or Galatians). No, what is being dealt with here is a church split (so common today that we do not even think about it) and the love of brothers and sisters. But don’t think for a moment that this issue is unimportant. Like the Minor Prophets, the general letters bring a powerful message in a little book. Remember, “Big things come in small packages.” There is no better view of that than here in chapter 5 of 1 John.

For the past couple of weeks, we have been addressing that the love of God is seen in our love for our brothers and sisters. And so, we would be correct in our taking this to heart. But what about loving God’s children, those born or begotten of God, those whom we might not consider brothers or sisters because they are not in our church? Those who might be in different denominations or even those who are Roman Catholic or Orthodox? What does that do? By loving God’s children, those in the Church universal, we show that we love God.

The author of 1 John is telling us that anyone who believes Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, is born of God. But that word in English is not quite strong enough to do justice to what it really means. Here the term begotten is better. Begotten means that one is fathered, that the parentage of the child is never in question. If one is just “born” there can be questions as to the father. But when one is said to be begotten, then all questions are thrown aside and parentage is accepted as known fact.

And so, we are told that those who love the parent, love the child. And those who love the children of God, love God and obey the commandments of God. Do you see a pattern here? It is a cycle. God loves the “child of God.” The Child of God then loves other children of God. This then leads back to God and God loving the child of God. And it goes on and on. Unlike other circular patterns, however, this one is good because it shows us where and who love is.

When we love one another there is family. In families we have our squabbles and fits. I know that my sister and I could get into some royal rows. But have someone else try the same thing that I had said or done in an argument with her and watch out. My love for my sister was such that no one could do anything to her and get away with it. It is like that with the family of God. We have our squabbles and sometimes we don’t like people. But if someone is begotten of God, we are called to love them (see the scripture again, love is listed no less than five times in these five verses). James Baldwin said this about love and loving others, “What was the point, the purpose, of my salvation if it did not permit me to behave with love toward others, no matter how they behaved toward me?” “…not merely in the personal sense but as a state of being, or a state of grace.”[1]

And what does following the commandments mean? It could mean just the 10 commandments that most of us know and love. But here the writer is stating ALL the commandments. The commandments are of God, and they are not burdens, but rather are easy to follow because God enables us to follow them. We have an example in Jesus who was able to keep all the commandments. “But”, you may say, “I mess up all the time and besides didn’t Paul say that the law, or the commandments, are a burden that makes our lives harder?” But then we hear Jesus who said (“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”. Mat 11:29-30 NRS). The commandment here is to love God and love one another. This is not a heavy commandment. It may seem difficult at times but God, in God’s love toward us, allows us to be able to love. When we realize that the almighty God, the creator, redeemer, and sustainer of all life loves us, that the one who is above all things loves us enough to send the Christ to us, to become human and die, does it not become easy for us to love our brothers and sisters? Gary Burge says this about the love of God not being a grandparent or a buddy but the almighty who loves us, “Thus when the New Testament speaks of God as a loving Father, there is an emotional scandal presented to the hearer: This great, awesome Lord is also interested in profound intimacy with me? When we reclaim this scandalous tension in our preaching and teaching, when we affirm with abandon that God is holy, powerful, and supreme—and at the same time affirm his shocking intimacy with us—good news is found.”[2]. And so, doing and loving we show our love for one another and in showing our love for one another we show our love for God, because if we do not love one another and we do not do the command of God, then we are like those who are the enemies that the writer of 1 John writes about in this letter, we reject Jesus as the one who came and died for us making us one. We become antichrists.

When we love each other there is a term for what we have: Communion. And when we have communion, we show the love of God for each of us and the love that we have for each other in sharing this meal together. Passing the elements, serving each other. Can anyone think of a better example of showing the love of God than service? The Gaither Vocal Band sings a song called Loving God, Loving Each Other. Part of the chorus is “loving God, loving each other and the story never ends.” Kind of appropriate don’t you think? Does a circle have an end? Love God, love each other. Then repeat. Amen.

[1]Joel B Green. Connections: Year B, Volume 2: Lent through Pentecost (Connections: A Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship) (p. 275). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition. [2] Burge, Gary M. Letters of John. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996. Print. The NIV Application Commentary.