His Children His Love by Sheldon Bass
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16 KJV
Beginning around 1950, John 3:16 became the best known bible verse in America. We saw it displayed at various public gatherings and posted on roadside signs across the country.
1st John 3:16 (John’s epistle) corresponds so clearly with the 3:16 of his gospel account. That well known verse joyfully proclaims the staggering love of God in that He sent His Son to die in our behalf and bring us the victory of eternal life. Then in his 1st letter, John draws from that sacrificial act to describe the kind of love all Christians should practice.
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” 1st John 3:16 NIV
It is sacrificial action which best displays God’s love through the lives we live. We surrender our lives to Christ and lay down our self-wills in service to one another. Within the kingdom of God on earth, established at Pentecost, the most beautiful cycle of God’s love is perpetuated.
The Spirit of God continues to showcase His mind-boggling love through you and me: the redeemed in Christ. We should ask ourselves daily: “How well am I showing the world what God’s love is like?”
As we perform sacrificial love in our words and actions, we appear as true children of God, emulating His very nature. For, “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” (1st John 4:16 NIV)
Sheldon Bass, Indiana—Author of “Meet Him on the Mountain” (available soon) Contact
