“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”

When I was a child going to church camp, my two favorite times of the day (besides swim time) were the morning sing-a-long before we all broke off into our study groups and evening vespers, where we once again sang those simple messages of God’s love. During one Jr. High Camp, we learned a song I’d never heard before, nor heard since. It was a three-part medley of scriptures that ended with this passage. I loved that song and sang it joyfully; still sing it all the time. In fact, I have used it as a lullaby to sing my children to sleep since they were newborns. It’s such a simple verse, yet it is the basis of our Christian faith. God is Love. You can’t love another without knowing God – neither can you know God without loving. What better blanket to wrap up in than God’s love?

LORD, HELP US TO REMEMBER HOW MUCH YOU LOVE US, THAT WE ARE ONLY ABLE TO LOVE OTHERS BECAUSE WE KNOW YOU. HELP US TO HONOR YOU WITH OUR LOVE AND LET OUR WORDS REFLECT YOUR LOVE EACH TIME WE SPEAK. “BELOVED, LET US LOVE ONE ANOTHER.” AMEN.

-Shared by Juli Parsons Loving