God of our senses
Reflection on 1 John 4:7-21
When I think of John’s letter, I want to go back to the introductory words:
‘That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life – the life was made manifest, and we saw it and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us – that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John: 1-3).’
How many senses are mentioned here?
· Hearing – ‘which we have heard’
· Sight – ‘which we have seen with our eyes’
· Touch – ‘which we have looked upon and touched with our hands’
No mention here of taste and smell but we have something of that in Holy Communion. God has made himself known in Jesus Christ, not just to our minds but to our bodies as well.
So now we come to the passage from 1 John 4:7-21. Verse 8 sums it up: ‘He who does not love does not know God; for God is love’. Knowing God is not just a matter of the head, not even, we might say, a matter of the heart. It goes deeper. The apostle John goes on to say: ‘In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us … (verse 10)’. We are invited to cuddle up to the Father, to bathe in the love of God, like a sensory experience. As we do that ‘God abides in us and his love is perfected in us’.
Having said that, there is some ‘ought’ in it. We have to respond to the love we receive. But it should come naturally. It’s an aberration if it doesn’t. ‘So we know and believe the love God has for us. God is love and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him’ (verse 16). If we really know God, our default position is love. What a promise! What a tall order! ‘If anyone says, “I love God” and hates his brother, he is a liar,’ continues John. If anyone says “I love God” and hates his brother, he (or she) is obviously not abiding in God. The two hang together: abiding in God and loving our brothers and sisters in Christ.
I think John places these two factors (abiding in God and loving our brothers and sisters at a deep level) fairly and squarely as a challenge for the church. It’s not just a matter of personally abiding in God. It is also a matter of communally abiding in God. The prayer focus of congregations and regional networks needs to be lifted, I believe. There are positive consequences: not only love for each other but also the overcoming of fear. ‘There is no fear in love,’ says John (in verse 18), ‘but perfect love casts out fear.’ Even on the day of judgement, we need not fear.
‘As he [Christ] is so are we in this world,’ says John (verse 17). My commentary states: ‘The world did not welcome Christ and it does not welcome Christ’s people. On the day of judgement the Judge will understand all. As He is so are we.’