We love because he first loved us. – 1 John 4:19

Today’s Scripture Reading (April 17, 2018): 1 John 4

Ernest Hemmingway in “For Whom the Bell Tolls” writes;

I had an inheritance from my father,
It was the moon and the sun.

             And though I roam all over the world,
             The spending of it’s never done.

We understand what Hemmingway was meaning. Being taught to love nature is an inheritance that we can continue to enjoy throughout our lives. This kind of inheritance is not one that we will ever use up but rather renews itself day and night with every moment that we get outside and enjoy the natural world.

John makes a similar statement here. After speaking about the necessity of Christian love, he pauses and tells us where it is that this love originates. Christian love is not something that wells up naturally from the depths of the human soul. It is a gift from God; it is our inheritance from our Father. We love because he made the first move and loved us.

Love is the Christian’s incredible gift given to us by our Father. And like Hemmingway, we can emphatically state that we can roam all over the world, and the spending of our inheritance will never be completed. We will never find ourselves in a situation where love is not required. We will also never run out of love, no matter how much we love because the love that we share flows freely through us from Dad.

Of course, much like the inheritance that Hemmingway speaks of, we have to use our inheritance, or we are in danger of losing access to it. If we do not keep in the practice of love, we will find that we will lose our ability to use our incredible inheritance. There are many Christians that have turned sour and bitter and often maintain a very negative outlook on life. And with all that God has given to us, the only reason that I can find for that bitterness is that they have forgotten how to use their incredible inheritance. This love that God has bequeathed to them has become a stagnant pond. Much like the Dead Sea, love flows in, but it never flows out. And therefore life can no longer be sustained within its reach.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 John 5