Love on Display
07/01/2025
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.” – 1 John 4:9 (NIV)
There are moments in life when words aren’t enough. Times when someone has to show their love. We’ve seen it in the parent who rushes into danger for their child, in the spouse who stays faithful through the hardest seasons, or the friend who shows up when everyone else walks away.
But none of those examples, powerful as they are, compare to what God did to demonstrate His love. He didn’t just say He loved us. He proved it, once and for all, by sending His Son.
1 John 4:9 pulls back the curtain on the heartbeat of God. “This is how God showed His love among us…” John isn’t talking about blessings or answered prayers or peaceful sunsets. He’s talking about Jesus. Not just any gift, but the ultimate one. The one and only Son of God came into the world, a world that would reject Him, mock Him, crucify Him, so that we might live through Him.
The phrase “that we might live through Him” is more than just survival or existence. It’s a spiritual awakening. It’s abundant life (John 10:10), restored relationship, eternal hope. Without Jesus, we’re spiritually dead. With Him, we come alive.
Think about it, if you were trying to show someone just how much you loved them, what would you give up? What would it cost? For God, it cost everything.
The story of a missionary named John Paton comes to mind. He and his wife went to the New Hebrides Islands (modern-day Vanuatu) in the 1800s. This was an island known for cannibalism. Within months, his wife and infant son both died. He buried them with his own hands. In the midst of his grief, he stayed. Why? Because he knew that God’s love was worth sharing, even when it cost him deeply. He once said, “I do not regret leaving home and friends. I would gladly do it again for the sake of one soul.”
That’s the kind of love that flows from understanding God’s love.
When we fully grasp what 1 John 4:9 means, we stop seeing Jesus as just a historical figure or religious teacher. We begin to see Him as the living, breathing proof that God will stop at nothing to reach us.
Here are some things you can do to help you on your journey.
Reflect on how God has shown His love to you personally.
Write a thank-you note to God in your journal, expressing gratitude for Jesus.
Share God’s love by doing something sacrificially kind for someone today.
Memorize today’s verse and meditate on it each time you doubt your worth or His presence.
My challenge for you today is this:
Show someone today, not just with words but with action, that they are deeply loved. Be the hands and feet of Jesus to someone who desperately needs to know they’re not forgotten.
Heavenly Father, thank You for not just telling us You love us, but for showing it so powerfully through Jesus. Your gift is beyond anything we could ever earn or deserve. Help us to live in the fullness of that love today and to be a reflection of it to others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Pastor Jeff
#LoveGod #LovePeople #FindFreedom #FindYourDesign
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.” – 1 John 4:9 (NIV)
There are moments in life when words aren’t enough. Times when someone has to show their love. We’ve seen it in the parent who rushes into danger for their child, in the spouse who stays faithful through the hardest seasons, or the friend who shows up when everyone else walks away.
But none of those examples, powerful as they are, compare to what God did to demonstrate His love. He didn’t just say He loved us. He proved it, once and for all, by sending His Son.
1 John 4:9 pulls back the curtain on the heartbeat of God. “This is how God showed His love among us…” John isn’t talking about blessings or answered prayers or peaceful sunsets. He’s talking about Jesus. Not just any gift, but the ultimate one. The one and only Son of God came into the world, a world that would reject Him, mock Him, crucify Him, so that we might live through Him.
The phrase “that we might live through Him” is more than just survival or existence. It’s a spiritual awakening. It’s abundant life (John 10:10), restored relationship, eternal hope. Without Jesus, we’re spiritually dead. With Him, we come alive.
Think about it, if you were trying to show someone just how much you loved them, what would you give up? What would it cost? For God, it cost everything.
The story of a missionary named John Paton comes to mind. He and his wife went to the New Hebrides Islands (modern-day Vanuatu) in the 1800s. This was an island known for cannibalism. Within months, his wife and infant son both died. He buried them with his own hands. In the midst of his grief, he stayed. Why? Because he knew that God’s love was worth sharing, even when it cost him deeply. He once said, “I do not regret leaving home and friends. I would gladly do it again for the sake of one soul.”
That’s the kind of love that flows from understanding God’s love.
When we fully grasp what 1 John 4:9 means, we stop seeing Jesus as just a historical figure or religious teacher. We begin to see Him as the living, breathing proof that God will stop at nothing to reach us.
Here are some things you can do to help you on your journey.
Reflect on how God has shown His love to you personally.
Write a thank-you note to God in your journal, expressing gratitude for Jesus.
Share God’s love by doing something sacrificially kind for someone today.
Memorize today’s verse and meditate on it each time you doubt your worth or His presence.
My challenge for you today is this:
Show someone today, not just with words but with action, that they are deeply loved. Be the hands and feet of Jesus to someone who desperately needs to know they’re not forgotten.
Heavenly Father, thank You for not just telling us You love us, but for showing it so powerfully through Jesus. Your gift is beyond anything we could ever earn or deserve. Help us to live in the fullness of that love today and to be a reflection of it to others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Pastor Jeff
#LoveGod #LovePeople #FindFreedom #FindYourDesign
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