“So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” (1 John 4:16, ESV) John’s letter has three major sections about love: The new commandment to love – 1 John 2:7-11, Loving one another – 1 John 3:10-14, and God’s perfect love is available to every person – 1 John 4:7-21. John literally writes (Greek: agapetoi agapomen)...

From the book Relational Holiness – Responding to the Call of Love by Thomas J. Oord and Michael Lodahl What does it mean to be holy? “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” Inigo Montoya – Princess Bride. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wujVMIYzYXg The Apostle Paul wrote: “The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash – along...

From the book Relational Holiness – Responding to the Call of Love by Thomas J. Oord and Michael Lodahl Christian perfection is, in its essence, perfection in love. There is a difference between knowing something and acting on that knowledge. As we defined earlier, love is “To act intentionally, in response to God and others, to promote well-being.” Knowing this definition of love differs greatly from actually loving someone. “A...

From the book: “Uncomfortable: The Awkward and Essential Challenge of Christian Community” by Brett McCracken The Core of Holiness From Relational Holiness by Thomas Jay Oord and Michael Lodahl “When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along… When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is love.” (Romans 13:8-10, The Message) Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians identifies these...