First John 2:9

Relationships are hard, raw, beautiful, and the best parts of life on Earth. Relationships are the people in your life that you exchange some amount of value with...people who are both equal parts important to you as you are to them. So much of our relationships leave us with uninvited pain and frustration. Fortunately God’s words guides us into valuing not only ourselves, but others through His eyes.

Sometimes it’s hard to love people – even the ones that are closest to us. We admittedly find it easier to love them than those whom we don’t really get along with. In Plan 13 we see Jesus’ love on full display when He chooses to be a servant and when He chooses to still love those who will betray Him. Are we willing to love others on this level?

In this plan we will undertake a study of the book of 1 John, in the New Testament. The book of 1 John is the first of three books, written by John the elder to house church believers. The book of 1 John encourages believers to remember that God is light and love and therefore to live lives that reflect that light and love with one another and the world.

1 John is one of three letters written by John the Beloved, the same author as the Gospel of John and Revelation. Written as a response to false teaching in the church, John reminds his readers that just as God is both love and light, true believers are to show love and light to the world.