1 John 4:13-21
Separation is a horrible and enduring pain. There is no situation in life where separation doesn’t hurt; even in what turns out to be good for someone, the pain of separation isn’t natural. It’s not the way this world was supposed to work. And yet, here we are. Separated from God with a forever ache on our soul.
It’s a separation people feel every day and in every way, especially those that don’t know Christ. In those situations, there is only loss, darkness, and fear. “Alone” is far too simple a word to describe the soul-crushing and agonizing weight of unending solitude. This is what shows God as the most amazing, most incredible God, because that separation is not the end of the story. The end of the story is reconciliation, restoration, and re-connection. The end of the story is together, not separate. The togetherness abides in AGAPE.
God Lets You In
Often the most prevailing view of God is one of the vengeful sheriff in the sky just waiting for His chance to catch us and shoot us down the moment we make a mistake. As a result, many people look at the idea of God’s love and cringe. Those ideas and images make it difficult to believe that God loves you and with humanity currently physically and spiritually separated from God there is active loss and pain felt by many. The song, No Son of Mine, by Phil Collins that really hits the pain of separation, told through the eyes of a father who won’t let his son back in the family. Read some of the lyrics here.
They say that time is a healer
And now my wounds are not the same
But I rang that bell with my heart in my mouth
I had to hear what he’d say
He sat me down to talk to me
He looked me straight in the eyes
He said
“You’re no son, you’re no son of mine”
“You’re no son, no son of mine”
“When you walked out, you left us behind”
“And you’re no son, you’re no son of mine”
Oh, his words how they hurt me
I’ll never forget it
And as the time, it went by
I lived to regret it
“You’re no son, you’re no son of mine”
But where should I go and what should I do?
“You’re no son, you’re no son of mine”
Well I came here for help, oh I was looking for you
But that’s not the truth. And the truth isn’t even that God loves you, but that God AGAPE loves you. In these 9 verses, the word love is repeated 14 times, and every single one of those times the original Greek word used for love is AGAPE. The Greeks had upwards of 8 different words that us lazy English-speakers would tumble together into the singular word, love. For example, Eros refers to romantic love; Phileo refers to brotherly love – the “I got your back” kind of love. AGAPE love is the unconditional, unwavering, unremovable kind of love that a parent would have for a child, a married couple would have for each other after years of loyalty, or the type of love that God has for you.
This is the type of love that causes God to come out of heaven, put on flesh, and give up His life so that you can be reestablished in His presence. The entire gospel story, and the focus of the first part of this passage, is that God lets us back in through Christ. The rescue plan mentioned in the story earlier is Jesus and his restorative work on the cross, bringing us back into the presence of God through faith. This is beautifully shown in Matt 27:51 with the curtain of the Holy of Holies being ripped, signifying everyone being able to go into the presence of God now through Christ. The relationship that was lost has now been restored; the heart absence has now been filled with God’s presence. We are with Him – which is what it means to abide in Him – a word that was repeated 5 times in this passage. He has opened the door and let us in. He says you ARE my child and the door is open.
God Removes Fear and Judgment
But going inside is scary, because we know we don’t deserve to go in. We are sinful and God isn’t. His judgment is terrifying. But that’s not how God works. Like with my kids, when they were scared of the crazy storms of southwest Florida where they grew up, I would continually remind them that they are inside and safe with me; there is nothing to fear because those storms can’t reach you in here. Because we are under the roof and protected by the walls, we don’t need to fear what is going on outside. With God, you are now invited inside where there is nothing to fear. There is no judgment that can punish you, no accusation that can affect you, and no separation that can hurt you again. Rom 8:39 tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God through Christ. There is no condemnation for a believer and therefore literally nothing to fear! What is fear other than anticipation of evil – in Christ, evil is done away with and we are free to bask in His presence and all its goodness!
Next Steps
This is exactly why it is so important to love others with that same AGAPE love. Remember verses 20-21. To hate another is to desire removal of relationship because of some judgment. It is the opposite of God’s desire and God’s own actions toward you, just like the servant we read about earlier. God’s love reconciles and reprieves us. Go and do likewise.
- Seek deeper connection with God through spiritual disciplines
- Share with a trusted friend a story of God’s AGAPE love toward you
- Challenge how you look at non-believers with judgment and mistrust. Try God’s approach to them and see how they respond.
Jesus went through all that agony of pain and death so that you would be let back in and never be judged. You are loved. You have been reconciled and reprieved. Listen to the words of the song below and then go and do likewise.
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