Contemplative Bible Reading

1 John 4:12 (New Living Translation)

No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

The second sentence of this verse is a bit unsettling. For God to live in me, I have to love those about me. It doesn’t say anything about me sort of liking all those people about me. Perhaps this is a translation error or some excuse I can grasp.

A sobering thought is that God wants me to love those about me. That will be the full expression of His love in me. That doesn’t seem to be an arduous command. It doesn’t seem to be a command at all. It seems to be a “here is something that is really good for you, so stop being an idiot and bless yourself.”

God, please help me in my unbelief.