YOUR GOD WILL BE MY GOD

1) When John wrote to the church, what did he command everyone to do and why?

1 John 4:7

2) What is God?

1 John 4:8

3) When thinking about love, God is the embodiment of this personality. Knowing this, how can taking on God’s character help those who believe in Him make a positive change in their community?

4) How did God show His love to people?

1 John 4:9-10 John 3:16-18

5) How can a person show love to others in a similar fashion as God?

6) After talking about God’s love, what did John encourage people to do?

1 John 4:11

7) Paul talks about love as well when encouraging the church. List some of the actions and gifts a person can do and have that are useless without love.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

8) What are the characteristics of love?

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

9) Just from what Paul wrote about love, how does this apply to your life? What skills and talents do you have that without love, would be useless?

10) Jesus Christ talked about love and how that relates to our interaction with each other. What command did Christ give to His followers?

John 13:34-35

11) When looking at Christ’s commands, what can the church and individuals learn and apply to their daily lives?

12) For Ruth to follow Naomi, there had to be love emanating from her mother-in-law that made going to an unknown country irresistible. What are the benefits of portraying God’s loving character to society?

JUST A THOUGHT

There is too much hate in the world. Every time media is consumed, there seems to be another headline or message about someone hating or being mean. Instead of using social media to uplift and encourage, we often use it to tear down and denigrate. There have been millions of people around the world who have built a brand by cultivating hate and spreading violence. They use the smallest differences to enslave the minds of many so that their inadequacies can be overlooked, and vile darkness spreads from their mouths. Despite this condition rapidly dispersing across the world, there is another way.

Love, as generic as that sound, can often cure the ills of so many. Having a genuine love for another person can lead someone to elevate instead of bringing down. It will create a positive mindset instead of antagonistic actions. Love can lead millions to do something for another person to ensure they are blessed or healthy instead of battered and in pain. There are many examples of love being shared in the Bible. From this lesson alone, we learned about what love is, God how actions with love are a requirement, and that we show the character of Christ through love. One such person in the Bible who must have had these attributes was Naomi.

This book of the Bible is focused on Ruth. We’ll learn more about her through the Biblical study. However, Ruth interacts with various people that either revealed a loving mindset or an excellent character trait. One such person was Naomi.
Naomi was Ruth’s mother-in-law, who revealed God’s character through the love she showed the family. Ruth was not an Israelite. She grew up in Moab but completely converted to Jehovah due to her husband’s family’s influences. Ruth saw in Naomi a better way to live. She desired this path so much that upon returning home after her husband had died, Ruth chose to live with Naomi in a land she had never previously visited.

When interacting with people, we must realize that we’re always representing God to someone else. In our behavior and speech, we can set the tone for how someone else will perceive the Most High. We can do this in a way that shows God as hateful and terrible to be around. Our words can be stiff, harsh, and mean. By doing this, we can erroneously show a God that is abysmal and doesn’t like people. Falsely showing God as a tyrant can push people away from wanting to have a relationship with Him. However, we can also be loving, kind, and giving to those we meet. This set of characteristics make God appear to be someone worth wanting to know.