Broken Bread
Daily Devotions from the Daily Light
by Evan Hopkins
July 5
We have known and believe the love that God hath to us.--I John 4:16
John tells us in the 20th chapter of his gospel, the 31st verse, that the purpose of the gospel was "that ye might believe." And in his epistle (I JN. 5:13) he says, "These things have i written . . . that ye may know." Believe what? "That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, ye might have life through his name." Know what? "That ye have eternal life." So it is possible to believe, and yet not to know. There may be faith--real saving faith--and yet there may be no assurance. The first gives life; the second gives comfort and power. "We have known," says the apostle, as well as "believed the love that God has to us." That love not only gladdens our hearts, it transforms our characters. It is not only a manifestation that has drawn us into His presence, it is an indwelling power that makes us like Him. This was our Lord's prayer--"That the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them" (John 17:26).