October 31, 2025 

1 John 4:7–12 – Love comes from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God, but His love is made complete in us.

Devotional:
John doesn’t describe love as something we muster up—it’s something we receive and reflect. Love that flows begins with God Himself. “Love comes from God,” John writes, because God is love. Everything about who He is and how He moves flows from that truth. When we love one another, we’re not just being nice; we’re revealing the very nature of God to a world that can’t see Him any other way. 

That’s a humbling thought, isn’t it? God’s love is invisible until it takes form in us. When we forgive, show patience, or lift someone who’s fallen, His love gains hands and feet again. We become living evidence that grace is real.

John uses a word that can sound intimidating—perfected. But in Greek, it doesn’t mean flawless; it means brought to completion. God’s love reaches its full purpose when it flows through us. Like a river, it’s meant to move. When we hoard love, it stagnates. When we share it, it becomes life-giving.

We’re not perfected by getting everything right; we’re perfected by staying connected to the Source. The closer we draw to God, the more His love reshapes our hearts, our habits, and our relationships. Over time, love stops being something we do and starts becoming who we are.

That’s what discipleship really is—learning to live loved, and then letting that love overflow into the world. Outreach isn’t a strategy; it’s the overflow of a heart that’s been filled. When God’s love fills us, fear shrinks, pride softens, and bitterness loses its grip. What remains is the reflection of the One who loved first, loved best, and still loves endlessly.

Action: Ask God to show you one way His love can flow through you today. It might be a word of encouragement, an apology, or an unexpected act of kindness.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me perfectly, even when I fall short. Teach me to stay rooted in Your love until it overflows into every part of my life. Let Your love be made complete in me—not through perfection, but through compassion. Help me reveal Your heart to those who need to see it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Thought for the Day: God’s love isn’t complete until it flows through us.