Christianity Oasis Forum

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December5
Friday


HUMAN CHESS

READ:
1 John 4:7-12
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Beloved, let us love one
another, for love is of
God; and everyone who
loves is born of God
and knows God.
__1 John 4:7
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Chess is an ancient game of strategy. Each player begins with 16 pieces on the chessboard with the goal of cornering his opponent's king. It has taken different forms over the years. One form is human chess, which was introduced around AD 735 by Charles Martel, duke of Austrasia. Martel would play the game on giant boards with real people as the pieces. The human pieces were costumed to reflect their status on the board and moved at the whim of the players__manipulating them to their own ends.

Could this human version of the game of Chess be one that we sometimes play? We can easily become so driven by our goals that people become just one more pawn that we use to achieve them. The Scriptures, however, call us to a different view of those around us. We are to see people as created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26). They are objects of God's love (John 3:16) and deserving of ours as well.

The apostle John wrote, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God" (1 John 4:7). Because God first loved us, we are to respond by loving Him and the people He created in his image. __Bill Crowder

```````````````````Open my eyes, Lord, to people around me,`````````````````````
``````````````````````Help me to see them as You do above;``````````````````````
````````````````Give me the wisdom and strength to take action,````````````````````
`````````````So others may see the depth of Your love. __Kurt DeHaan````````````````
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People are to be loved, not used.


**********************Today's Bible Reading __ 1 John 4:7-12*************************

7 Beloved, let us love one
another, for love is of God;
and everyone who loves is
born of God and knows
God. 8 He who does not
love does not know God,
for God is love. 9 In this the
love of God was manifested
toward us, that God has
sent His only begotten Son
into the world, that we
might live through Him.

10 In this is love, not that we
loved God, but that He
loved us and sent His Son
to be the propitiation for
our sins. 11 Beloved, if God
so loved us, we also ought
to love one another.

12 No one has seen God at
any time. If we love one
another, God abides in us,
and his love has been
perfected in us.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
The apostle John wrote today's memorable words about love to a
church struggling with the influences of false teachers. The words
of verses 7-12 follow his instructions in verses 1-6 about identifying
false teachers and false teaching (mainly by their view of Jesus).
These verses indicate that love for God and for others is a key test
for identifying those who truly follow Christ. Therefore, it is no
surprise that John emphasizes the Christian characteristic of love. In
today's passage, he says that we ought to love one another, and in
his gospel he records Jesus' words, "By this, all will know that you
are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35).
How we treat one another is a demonstration of our love for God.