Full Expression

"This is real love -- not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression."  I John 4:10-12

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. The cooler evenings and the changing of the leaves. Good stuff. We have a tall tree in our front yard whose leaves are some of the most brilliant orange and red I've ever seen. The colors slowly turn until one day ... Wow! They hit full expression. Driving in one evening with sunset colors hitting the glowing leaves, my wife said, "Now, it's just showing off."

Jesus' best friend, John, wrote his account of Jesus' life and his letters much later than the others did. He was the only disciple to see old age. His reflections and observations from that unique perspective led him to one primary passion -- love. If you get love right, you can overcome getting many other things wrong. If you get everything right except love, you've accomplished nothing.   

The richest evidence of the power and presence of God in this world is our love for each other. It reveals his life flowing through us. It's a love of mind, heart, will, body and Spirit. It is to be inspired by God's love for us, a love demonstrated by sending Jesus to save us. When this love hits full expression in Jesus' people, others see and say, "Wow! Now I see Jesus." 

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