1 John 5:1-5-- This Is Love For God

Scripture: 1 John 5:1-5

Different types of relationships create different expressions of love. Love between spouses looks different from siblings' bond of love, and both of those are distinct from, say, a grandparent's love for a child.

The million dollar question answered in today's passage is this: what does love look like from a person to God?



C.S. Lewis, in his brilliant work The Problem of Pain, uses 4 analogies from Scripture of God's relationship to us to understand God's love for us. Here they are:

• Artist--masterpiece; God relentlessly 'works on us' until we are exactly what He wants us to be
• Human--animal (pet); God will use discipline to transform us into a more lovable state
• Parent--child; God is authoritative and, as we obey His authority, He molds who we become
• Husband--wife; God's desire for us to be loving, obedient, faithful, etc., isn't some arbitrary or dispassionate desire, but passionately flows from His jealous love for us

Well, that's awesome enough to share anytime, but I think the third example is very relevant to our passage in 1 John 5. In that passage, God is called 'father' and we are said to be 'born of God' and His 'children'. 

We see that the parent-child framework doesn't just tell us about God's love for us-- it speaks to our love for Him. 

How does a small child show love for a parent? Obedience (among other things). Or better yet, what would the ultimate act of love be for a rebellious, hormone-driven, confused, angry, angst-y teenager toward a parent? Perhaps it would be to go against all the inclinations to scream or storm off or sneak out or lash out and obey.

There might be something unappetizing about this. I think we want love to be more than rote obedience. And surely it is; obedience is just one part. But more than that, even the obedience is different from in human relationships. It is life-giving, or, as the passage says, victorious.

"...His commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith."