" PAST " REVEALING THE CENTRALITY OF LOVE SAINT JOHN

 

SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST

Recurringly, in his Gospel and his other writings, Saint John  leaves off his narrative for a major reflection on the meaning of the Life of Christ, and the significance  of Faith that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God.

In his Gospel narrative,  ( 3:16) he opens up the subject of God's Love:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son,

that whoever believes in Him should not perish

but have eternal life.

For God sent the Son into the world,

not to condemn the world,

but that the world might be saved through Him.

He who believes in Him is not condemned;

he who does not believe in Him is condemned already,

because he has not believed in the Name of the only Son of God.

And this is the judgement, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the Light,because their deeds were evil.

For everyone who does evil hates the light,and does not come to the light,

lest his deeds should be exposed.

But he who does what is true comes to the light,

that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God.

Later, in the First Epistle of Saint John (iv : 7 -11), he reveals how that Divine Love flows through us outward to transform the world:

Beloved, let us love one another;

for love is of God,and he who loves

is born of God and knows God.

He who does not love does not know God;

for God is Love.

In this the love of God was made manifest among us,

that God sent His only Son into the world,

so that we might live through Him.

In this is love,

not that we loved God but that He loved us

and sent His Son to be the expiation of our sins.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 

No man has ever seen God; if we love one another,

God abides in us and His Love is perfected in us.

There we have laid out for us, by the Divinely inspired Saint John, the beloved disciple, the full significance of Divine Love for each of us and for the world at large. It is inspiring and challenging and gives us the measure of our success or otherwise as followers of Christ.