“But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:17–18, ESV)
“The young man had never dreamed of earning so much money. What would his father say now? What would his friends think? How proud his mother would be.
But Robert Nicholas’s parents back in Ontario were concerned. Six dollars for a sixty-hour week was too much for a young man on his own in Chicago in 1900. Could he handle it, or would it ruin him? His father wrote him a lengthy letter, warning of the dangers of money. Be cautious and wise, he said. Give to the Lord. Some people are financially blessed so as to be generous in the Lord’s work. And don’t forget Proverbs 11:24, a verse Mr. Nicholas prominently quoted in his letter to Robert: “There is one who scatters, yet increases more; and there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty.”
The verse had its intended effect. Robert began giving his tithes and offerings to the Lord. Joining a nearby Methodist church, he worked in the Sunday school and witnessed to friends.
Within five years, he purchased his own hardware store in nearby Oak Park and soon built it into one of the strongest businesses in Illinois. His leadership in Oak Park brought in department stores, banks, and schools. He advised and aided nearby Christian colleges, and helped finance many projects for the Kingdom. Selling his hardware store in 1929, he opened a lending institution that went through the darkness of the Great Depression without a single default. Homes and homeowners were saved by his counsel and patience. Many missionaries and mission boards, churches, and students received aid from him, the gifts often coming anonymously.
His life overflowed because he never forgot his father’s counsel: Scattering leads to increasing more, but withholding brings poverty (Proverbs 11:24).”” (Robert J. Morgan, From This Verse)
Robert Nicholas and his parents knew something very important about living in this world. If you do not share from your wealth, something dies in you. People who hoard don’t become more rich. While their material possessions or bank accounts may increase, so many things in their life become poor. Their love for others withers. Their compassion falters. Respect from others fades. Their spiritual life dies a horrible death. They become a people consumed with material concerns and love becomes non-existent. There is a direct correlation between wealth and the loss of love. The only antidote is to lovingly share.
1 John 3:17 draws together this link between God’s love abiding in a person and selfish hoarding of material goods. In this scripture, John wrote that “if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” Truly, a godly love cannot coexist with a selfish heart and soul and mind. Over time, the selfish, materialistic attitude begins to control the entire being of any person. Is it any wonder that Jesus proclaimed that “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle than a rich man to gain entrance into heaven” (Matthew 19:24)?
Look at the character of God. With power and knowledge and a creative ability that knows no bounds, God did not choose to hoard up all the benefits of such gifts. Instead, God brought forth humanity from the dust of the earth and shared His bounty with us. God is constantly giving, providing, sharing, caring, and loving. That’s what it means to be godly. Sadly, too many do not reflect this sharing nature of God. I’ve even met some of the stingiest givers in my life at meetings with churchgoers! It should never, ever be that way.
When you look at God the Father, you see a powerful desire to share. God the Father even shared His beloved Son with the world! The famous John 3:16 even offers that “God so loved the world that HE gave HIS only begotten Son, that whosoever believes should not perish but have everlasting life.” God is loving. Thus, God is giving. Thus, God shares. He even shared with us His most precious Son! And what did humanity do with Jesus? We were threatened. His kind of love frightened the powers that be! They put Jesus to death on a cross. So much for love!
In the final verse for today, John advocates that the faithful never “love in word or talk” only (1 John 3:18). Instead, truly faithful people need to follow God’s example. We love “in deed and in truth”. True love doesn’t talk about what is loving alone. It follows through. It shares. It cares. It gives. It sacrifices. Those who are godly exhibit a holy and selfless kind of love. That’s what God the Father did by sending Jesus into this dangerous world. God put real love into action.
If you want to be godly, sharing and loving need to be central to your life. Let Jesus be your guide to a loving, selfless, benevolent life. Don’t let your faith be about words alone. Don’t be one who is all about virtue signaling or making promises you don’t keep or talking about needs without making a difference. Don’t just talk about love… live it. Don’t just flatter Jesus with religious words, share the gospel with those who need it. Don’t walk past a brother in need. Find a way to share some honest, real, holy, beautiful, “Jesus-kind” of love.
But Robert Nicholas’s parents back in Ontario were concerned. Six dollars for a sixty-hour week was too much for a young man on his own in Chicago in 1900. Could he handle it, or would it ruin him? His father wrote him a lengthy letter, warning of the dangers of money. Be cautious and wise, he said. Give to the Lord. Some people are financially blessed so as to be generous in the Lord’s work. And don’t forget Proverbs 11:24, a verse Mr. Nicholas prominently quoted in his letter to Robert: “There is one who scatters, yet increases more; and there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty.”
The verse had its intended effect. Robert began giving his tithes and offerings to the Lord. Joining a nearby Methodist church, he worked in the Sunday school and witnessed to friends.
Within five years, he purchased his own hardware store in nearby Oak Park and soon built it into one of the strongest businesses in Illinois. His leadership in Oak Park brought in department stores, banks, and schools. He advised and aided nearby Christian colleges, and helped finance many projects for the Kingdom. Selling his hardware store in 1929, he opened a lending institution that went through the darkness of the Great Depression without a single default. Homes and homeowners were saved by his counsel and patience. Many missionaries and mission boards, churches, and students received aid from him, the gifts often coming anonymously.
His life overflowed because he never forgot his father’s counsel: Scattering leads to increasing more, but withholding brings poverty (Proverbs 11:24).”” (Robert J. Morgan, From This Verse)
Robert Nicholas and his parents knew something very important about living in this world. If you do not share from your wealth, something dies in you. People who hoard don’t become more rich. While their material possessions or bank accounts may increase, so many things in their life become poor. Their love for others withers. Their compassion falters. Respect from others fades. Their spiritual life dies a horrible death. They become a people consumed with material concerns and love becomes non-existent. There is a direct correlation between wealth and the loss of love. The only antidote is to lovingly share.
1 John 3:17 draws together this link between God’s love abiding in a person and selfish hoarding of material goods. In this scripture, John wrote that “if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” Truly, a godly love cannot coexist with a selfish heart and soul and mind. Over time, the selfish, materialistic attitude begins to control the entire being of any person. Is it any wonder that Jesus proclaimed that “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle than a rich man to gain entrance into heaven” (Matthew 19:24)?
Look at the character of God. With power and knowledge and a creative ability that knows no bounds, God did not choose to hoard up all the benefits of such gifts. Instead, God brought forth humanity from the dust of the earth and shared His bounty with us. God is constantly giving, providing, sharing, caring, and loving. That’s what it means to be godly. Sadly, too many do not reflect this sharing nature of God. I’ve even met some of the stingiest givers in my life at meetings with churchgoers! It should never, ever be that way.
When you look at God the Father, you see a powerful desire to share. God the Father even shared His beloved Son with the world! The famous John 3:16 even offers that “God so loved the world that HE gave HIS only begotten Son, that whosoever believes should not perish but have everlasting life.” God is loving. Thus, God is giving. Thus, God shares. He even shared with us His most precious Son! And what did humanity do with Jesus? We were threatened. His kind of love frightened the powers that be! They put Jesus to death on a cross. So much for love!
In the final verse for today, John advocates that the faithful never “love in word or talk” only (1 John 3:18). Instead, truly faithful people need to follow God’s example. We love “in deed and in truth”. True love doesn’t talk about what is loving alone. It follows through. It shares. It cares. It gives. It sacrifices. Those who are godly exhibit a holy and selfless kind of love. That’s what God the Father did by sending Jesus into this dangerous world. God put real love into action.
If you want to be godly, sharing and loving need to be central to your life. Let Jesus be your guide to a loving, selfless, benevolent life. Don’t let your faith be about words alone. Don’t be one who is all about virtue signaling or making promises you don’t keep or talking about needs without making a difference. Don’t just talk about love… live it. Don’t just flatter Jesus with religious words, share the gospel with those who need it. Don’t walk past a brother in need. Find a way to share some honest, real, holy, beautiful, “Jesus-kind” of love.