Dear Church family and friends,

I pray that the Lord challenges you to become more like Him through this week’s “Refresco.”

Text: 1 John 2:7-11 “7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”

Just about the time when we begin to think that John is done with his pop quizzes, he whips out another one in 1 John 2:7-11. The dreaded TEST continues! The 1st Test: Obedience which we saw and took last week was found in 1 John 2:3-6. The 2nd Test: The test of Love is found in 1 John 2:7-11, which is what we will be looking at this coming Sunday.

Have you ever stopped to consider the way you use the word love? Have you ever considered who you tell you love and why? I’m always amazed at how flippant we are with our usage of the word love. We go from “I love you”, often directed at our spouses or those we hold dear, to “I love these new shoes I’m wearing.” With that type of extreme usage, no wonder we’re often confused about what love really is and means!

The word love is found 24 times in the 105 verses of this letter. There’s a reason John is called the Apostle of love. In fact John, as with all the other New Testament writers, would say that love is the circulatory system of the church as the circulatory system in your body carries blood to all parts of your body, supplying nourishment to every cell. What would happen if your circulatory system shut down? You would die because it is vital to your physical body. So it is with the church, the Body of Christ, that has its very own circulatory system: Love. When Christ followers obey and do what Jesus and John calls us to do, love one another, the body is healthy. But, when Christians don’t love as they are called to, spiritual arteries get clogged, and the Church is in danger of a spiritual stroke or heart attack.

1. In your own words, define the word love.
2. How good of a “lover” are you?
3. How flippant are you with the word love? What is one thing you say that you love which would confuse those hearing it?
4. Have you ever stopped to consider the way you use the word love? Have you ever considered who you tell you love and why?
5. What would happen to this world, to your relationships, to your church, if love no longer existed?
6. The word love that John uses in verse 10 is the Greek word Agape. Agape love is unselfish in nature. It’s a love that gives and expects nothing in return. It’s a love that says, “I love you in spite of yourself. I love you anyway, regardless of the circumstances.” It puts the needs of the other person before their own. That’s the kind of love God has for us and that we are to have for one another and for the world. Here is how Paul defines it in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, “4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” Who do you love this way? Who do you need to start loving this way?
7. Jesus’ ultimate expression of love for His enemies was seen in His prayer, “Father forgive them.” Can you pray a similar prayer for your enemies today? Who do you need to pray this prayer for?

My prayer is that this short mid-week study will prepare you for receiving God’s word on Sunday. May the Lord remind you of it the rest of the week. I look forward to worshiping with you this weekend.