If my memory serves me correctly these words were the focus of a John Lennon song performed by the Beatles many years ago. Love is the primary focus of the vast majority of popular songs throughout history. They are either about the love that got away, the love that never could be, or the love that is being smashed on the rocks of infidelity.
Our soap operas that fill our TV screens likewise tell the twisted story of love. Over and over again our music, our songs, and our literature drill down into this topic relentlessly.
It would seem to me that likewise, 1 John 4, drills down into the same topic again. There is, as you work your way through this Letter, a sense of déjà vu. We have heard it all before so it is easy to just selectively tune out. But just maybe, as one commentator[1] puts it, that is the point, we need to keep hearing this truth that demands praxis. He says,
“ We never get beyond God’s love for us in Christ and how that is lived out in love for one another. We are always drawn back to that central, and centering, claim. We know God’s love, first and foremost, in the Son; and we know God’s love because we have witnessed it in love for one another. This text may serve as a reminder that we never grow beyond our need to hear again the gospel of God’s love in Christ.”
All we need is love; love that looks like Jesus’ expression of love; love that has been poured out unconditionally; love that is given to bless so that we to may be a blessing to one another. Personally I think it is worth repeating over and over again until it is perfected in us.
[1] Brian Peterson Commentary on 1 John 4:7-21 in Working Preacher.org
