Schooled in Love 在爱中受教

[Dexu Xia]

We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19

Today's Scripture 1 John 4:16-21

Today's Insights  Jesus loves us so much He made a way for us to be with Him forever by dying on the cross for our sins (John 3:16; Romans 5:8). All we need to do is believe in Him and come to Him in repentance. Christ says to “love each other as I have loved you” (John 15:12; see 1 John 4:11). We exhibit this love by being “devoted to one another” and honoring others “above ourselves” (Romans 12:10), by not harming each other (13:10), and by “[carrying] each other’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2). This love is beautifully described in 1 Corinthians 13 as “patient, . . . kind, . . . not self-seeking, . . . not easily angered” (vv. 4-5). It “does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth” (v. 6). This love is possible only through the Holy Spirit’s work in us—transforming us to be more like Christ (Romans 5:5; 2 Corinthians 3:18) and enabling us to truly love others.

Today's Devotional  Woody Cooper stood in the loud mob the day Dorothy Counts, a Black girl, enrolled in his all-White high school in North Carolina. Taunting her, some boys yelled racial slurs and threw trash at Dorothy, but Woody didn’t rebuke them, even staying silent when a woman cried out, “Spit on her, girls!” He later asked himself, Why didn’t you at least say something? She was just another student coming to school. Haunted for decades by his sin of omission, especially after seeing himself in a news photo from that day, Woody finally reached out to Dorothy forty-nine years later to apologize.

As Woody learned, showing love and support for another human being isn’t just being brave; it’s also making a choice to be like Jesus. John the apostle taught this lesson to churches burdened by false teaching about Christ and His love.

“We love because He first loved us,” John wrote. “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar” (1 John 4:19-20). John recalled this great command: “Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister” (v. 21).

Woody and Dorothy reflected that love as they became close friends. They spoke at churches and schools together. On the night before he died, she came to see him. “I loved him,” she said, “and I know that he loved me.” That’s the Jesus way. It can be our way too, as God brings us together in His transforming love.

Reflect & Pray

When did you fail to love like Christ? How can you better show His love?

 Please guide me to love like You, Jesus.

By Patricia Raybon

我们爱，因为祂先爱了我们。（约翰一书 4:19）

今日经文：约翰一书 4章16-21 节

今日洞见：耶稣如此深爱我们，祂为我们开辟了一条道路，使我们永远与祂同在，祂为我们的罪死在十字架上（约翰福音 3:16；罗马书 5:8）。我们所需要做的就是相信祂，并悔改来到祂面前。基督说：“我怎样爱你们，你们也要怎样彼此相爱”（约翰福音 15:12；参见约翰一书 4:11）。我们藉着“彼此相爱”、“看别人比自己强”（罗马书 12:10）、不伤害彼此（13:10）以及“互相担当重担”（加拉太书 6:2）来展现这份爱。这种爱在《哥林多前书》13章中有优美的描述：“恒久忍耐，又有恩慈，不求自己的益处，不轻易发怒”（4-5节）。它“不喜欢不义，只喜欢真理”（6节）。这种爱唯有藉着圣灵在我们里面的工作才能实现，圣灵改变我们，使我们更像基督（罗马书5:5；哥林多后书3:18），并使我们能够真正地爱人。

今天的灵修：伍迪·库珀站在喧闹的人群中，那天，黑人女孩多萝西·康茨入学了他在北卡罗来纳州就读的那所全是白人的高中。一些男孩嘲​​讽她，对她进行种族歧视的辱骂，并向她扔垃圾，但伍迪没有斥责他们，甚至当一个女人喊道：“朝她吐口水，女孩们！”时，他也保持沉默。他后来问自己：为什么当时至少没说句话？她只不过是另一个来上学的学生而已。伍迪因自己的疏忽而愧疚数十年，尤其是在看到当天新闻照片中的自己之后，他终于在四十九年后联系了多萝西并向她道歉。

 正如伍迪所领悟到的，对他人表达爱与支持不仅需要勇气，更需要选择效法耶稣。使徒约翰曾向那些被关于基督及其爱的错误教导所困扰的教会传授过这一教训。“我们爱，是因为神先爱我们，”约翰写道。“凡说自己爱神，却恨弟兄的，就是说谎的。”（约翰一书 4:19-20）约翰还提到了这条伟大的诫命：“爱神的，也当爱弟兄。”（第21节） 伍迪和多萝西成为了挚友，他们正是这份爱的化身。他们一起在教堂和学校演讲。在伍迪去世的前一天晚上，多罗茜去看望了他。 “我爱他，”她说，“我知道他也爱我。” 这就是耶稣的方式。当上帝以他改变人心的爱将我们聚集在一起时，我们也可以如此。

反思与祷告 你何时没有像基督那样去爱？你如何才能更好地展现基督的爱？

耶稣，请引导我像你一样去爱。  作者：帕特里西亚 莱邦