I was reading 1 John this morning and something, perhaps very timely with the holidays in full force, captivated me. “But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It’s easy to brisk past this verse by tallying up all the people we love in our lives. Those little people who don’t know how to “fully” love in return – that’s for sure a mark of God’s love! ☺️

But this verse is not talking about the natural kind love we have for family and friends. That’s too human and natural. Lots of people would say they “love” someone. I believe John is talking about a supernatural love – that only God can give us. This supernatural love is a marker of His Spirit so it can’t be within our human strength to produce this kind of love.

What this kind of supernatural love from God look like? God’s love is “unfailing” and “faithful.” What does unfailing, faithful love look like?

It means loving without bitter resentment and animosity when someone pinches your sense of dignity with an ill-timed punch line or crude comment, when they disappoint your unmanaged expectations of their selfish behavior and lack of thoughtfulness, or when they completely lie to you, scoff at you, reject you, betray you, and seemingly take the life right out of you. That’s the kind of love we saw Jesus model, right?

So during the holidays when too many emotions are crammed into way too tiny of spaces and it feels unbearably hot for sweaters and cider, in the trials of life, when the rubber meets the road, in a moment of temptation to fight back evil with evil, when we feel squeezed by what seems unfair, in a roaring fire of pain and rejection, this is when our words and actions reveal the supernatural love of God that bleeds a merciful love in the moment of pain… and this kind of love receives the grace from the Father to release the debtor from the debt they owe us with His forgiveness. Because that’s what He did for us, right?

Sinful humanity will never love us the way the Father intended. Hearts are so broken and lost without Jesus, and that’s the real travesty. They don’t know Jesus and thus, they cannot bleed Jesus’ kind of unfailing love. They get angry, bitter, resentful, hate, and vengeful.

But if we say we have Jesus in us, then in the roaring fire of excruciating rejection and bludgeoning agony done to us, when the unthinkable clenches our breath and cinches our hearts, God’s supernatural, merciful, unfailing love will bleed out, spilling onto our offender.

This kind of supernatural love can only be revealed in the fire. It’s only when the fire burns away the things of this world, the pleasantries and comforts, and reveals what cannot be found in this world. The love of God dwelling in us.

“No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.” 1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬