This is His Commandment 1 John 3:16-24
Delivered to Smith Chapel UMC on May 3, 2009
What I Didn't Say
Command to Love--When God created us, He gave us with free will. I believe He did that so that we could love Him. If we don't have free will...if we don't have the freedom to choose...if we are forced to serve the Lord, then it isn't love. It's something else.
Yet, He turns around and commands us to love. Now that's a bit of a contradiction. How can we be commanded to love? Maybe I should ask it this way...how can we love in response to a command? Hasn't the choice been removed by that command?
Well, I guess the answer would be that it really IS a choice. In response to God's love, we love others. And though it's a command, our salvation doesn't depend on the fulfillment of it. Its fulfillment is the way we respond. Once we've truly experienced love, we can't help but give it away.
