God is Love
Tejas Camp and Retreat Center, 2010
My dear friends,
On this sixth Sunday of Easter, let us explore the spiritual wisdom of 1 John 4:7-21, where the apostle John elucidates the nature of divine love, inviting us to reflect on its alignment with the Brahmaviharas, or divine abodes, particularly love (metta) and compassion (karuna) as taught in the Bodhisattva path.
because love is from God;
everyone who loves
is born of God and knows God.
Whoever does not love does not know God,
for God is love.
- 1 John 4:7-8
Here, John speaks to the intrinsic quality of love as a divine attribute, essential and inherent to the nature of God. In the Bodhisattva path, similar insights arise, emphasizing that love is not just an emotion but a state of being, reflecting the true nature of mind when it is free from selfish attachments and aversions.
God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.
In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us
and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
- 1 John 4:9-10
This passage illuminates the sacrificial nature of divine love, highlighting how true love often involves profound selflessness. In Mahayana Buddhism, this correlates with the concept of compassionate action for the liberation of all beings, exemplifying a selfless commitment to the welfare of others, even at great personal cost.
No one has ever seen God;
if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
- 1 John 4:11-12
John emphasizes the manifestation of God's presence through our acts of love towards one another, resonating with the Buddhist teaching that loving-kindness and compassion towards others brings us closer to enlightenment for their sake as well as our own.
And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world.
God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God.
So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.
- 1 John 4:13-16
This passage reminds us that when great love and compassion dwell in us, and we in them, we are not far from the divine abodes of joy and peace (the third and fourth Brahmaviharas).
that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world.
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear;
for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.
- 1 John 4:17-18
John's assertion that 'perfect love casts out fear' aligns closely with Buddhist teachings that fear and other negative emotions are overcome by cultivating a mind of love and compassion. This perfect love mirrors the fearless and expansive nature of the Bodhisattva's great compassionate vow to save all beings.
Those who say, "I love God," and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars;
for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen,
cannot love God whom they have not seen.
The commandment we have from him is this:
those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.
- 1 John 4:19-21
The final verses challenge us to genuine spiritual integrity: professing love for the unseen divine must be matched by tangible expressions of love towards those we encounter daily. This truth is mirrored in the Bodhisattva's practice where the realization of enlightenment is not separate from compassionate action in the world.
In these reflections, we can recognize that the essence of divine love as taught in Christianity deeply corresponds with the practices of love and compassion in the Bodhisattva path. Both paths urge us towards a fearless, expansive love that seeks to transcend the self, embodying a divine presence that is both within us and beyond us.