The Letters of John
Ilumi Kids · Stories
A very wise and loving man named John, who was one of Jesus' best friends, wrote a special letter. He sent this letter to his friends who also loved God, to remind them of something very important.
John said, "Dear friends, don't believe everything you hear about God." He taught them to be like truth detectives, testing every teaching to see if it truly came from God. The main question was: "Does this person believe that Jesus came into the world as one of us?"
The apostle John wrote to his friends to teach them to recognize the truth and to remind them that the one who is in them is greater than the one who is in the world. He shared a beautiful secret: "God is love". God loved us first and sent Jesus; that is why we should love one another and show that love to the world.
Where it is in the Bible: 1 John 4
God is love, and those who love show the world what God is like.
After reading, use these questions to help your child remember and apply the story.
A very wise and loving man named John, who was one of Jesus' best friends, wrote a special letter. He sent this letter to his friends who also loved God, to remind them of something very important.
John said, "Dear friends, don't believe everything you hear about God." He taught them to be like truth detectives, testing every teaching to see if it truly came from God. The main question was: "Does this person believe that Jesus came into the world as one of us?"
John continued the letter with news that fills the heart with courage. He said his friends didn't need to be afraid of wrong ideas or voices that tried to trick them. There was a much greater power inside them!
He explained that the Spirit of God, who lives in everyone who loves Jesus, is much stronger than anything bad in the world. It's like having a superhero protector living inside our hearts, helping us to be strong and to choose the truth.
The One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. — 1 John 4:4
Then, John revealed the most beautiful and important secret of all. He wrote the magical words that explain everything about God: "God is love." He didn't just say that God *has* love, but that He *is* the very source of all love that exists.
This means that every time we truly love, we are showing a little piece of what God is like. And when we live in love, we are living very close to God, as if we were in a warm hug that never ends.
John (in the letter): Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.
But how can we be sure of such great love? John explained that it wasn't us who loved God first. It was the other way around! God loved us before anything else and showed us this love in an incredible way.
He gave us the most precious gift there was: His only Son, Jesus. Jesus came into the world not because we were perfect, but because God loved us so much that He wanted to forgive us and bring us close to Him forever. This was the greatest gift of love in history!
At the end of his letter, John left a very clear challenge. If God loved us so much, in such a spectacular way, what should we do in return? The answer is simple and powerful: we should love one another.
No one has ever seen God with their own eyes. But, when we care for, forgive, and are kind to the people around us, God's love becomes visible through us. It's as if we are mirrors reflecting the light and warmth of God's love for the whole world to see.
Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we should also love one another. — 1 John 4:11
