1 John 4:17-21 says and also a story...

Today's verses are 1 John 4:17-21, which read,

"By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.  We love, because He first loved us.  If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.  And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also."

John is repeating a lot of material that we have covered already.  The part that might be new is the section about "fear."  If we keep this in context that "God is love" and also the statement about "confidence in the day of judgment" then we who are genuine Christians who love God will not have fear on the day of judgment because we are standing in front of someone we love, who also loves us and first loved us.  John then goes on to hit again the practical lesson of this to look at how you love others and specifically your brother.  We are liars if we say that we love God (who we can't see) and hate our brother (who we can see).  We are lying about the fact that we love God.  Let's go unto an event I had last night at the local homeless shelter.

After the meal, one young man was talking with some others who were there around the cafeteria style table about his guitar and playing some music after dinner in the area where the TV is.  My ears always perk up when I hear about music so my ear was tuned that way even though I was in a conversation with another at the table.  He went by me with the guitar but I was not quick even so see what kind it was or the condition of it.

Soon music started pouring out of the other area and I made an escape from the table to stand in the corner of that area to watch this young man transform that instrument of wood and strings into something beautiful.  A little applause after he was done came and then the interest went back to the TV and the program that was movie about Ray Charles.  Jamie Fox (the actor playing Ray Charles) was at the piano and playing a performance and while that was going on, this young man started playing along.  He picked out the lead on that acoustic guitar and never missed a note.  I was standing there amazed at what he was doing "on the fly."

 

Later he came out of the TV area and I asked him about what type of guitar he had.  It was a "knock off" guitar, a copy of a copy.  It was an acoustic/electric but the pickups were gone and place to plug it in was missing.  It had a tuning stem gone and it was pretty ugly and beat up.  He went on to tell me and show me that the neck of it was so messed up that he had to either play high on the neck or low on the neck because it was out of tune from one end of the neck to the other.  

I am standing there, understanding the instrument and the condition of it and amazed that he compensated for its condition and still made it sound like that.  The young man started to open up and tell me his story that has a lot of twists and turns that put him in the shelter.  I was standing in front of someone about the age of my children.  I was standing in front of someone who does a lot of what my children do.  I was standing in front of someone who was so talented but probably the guitar he was playing (the condition of it) more described his life than the music that was coming out of it.  Beat up and slightly broken but still able to make music if played around those defects from abuse.

He played a Scripture song that he wrote and told me of the bands that he had been in and the churches he had been with.  He actually lived in Oglesby at one time and walked into the church for a Wednesday night prayer meeting a couple years back.  1 John hit me.

He is a Christian.  He is a brother.  He is not perfect but neither am I.  I had a brother standing in front of me that needed some love.  I say that I love God and what am I to do when I have a brother in front of me?  I knew as I was listening to his story that I could not walk away without praying for and with him.  He has a plan and he is in a place that is actually helping him work the plan to get back on his feet so I was just there to encourage him in the Lord.  A father figure to say, listen to and to show interest in a soul crying out not for help but a place in people's hearts.  

1 John came alive last night in the local homeless shelter for me.

"Lord, I continue to pray for that young man who had the beat up broken guitar that could still sing for You.  I continue to pray for myself to see that 'brothers' are all around me that need me to love them and the courage to not walk away without taking that extra step to offer what help You tell me to give.  Amen."

Pastor Adam