This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them. We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him. And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.
1 John 3:11-24 NLT
“Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.” (I John 3:18)
Love is the message of our faith: Christ died to set us free from everlasting death so we could live everlasting life with Him! Because the life of Jesus now flows through us, we are free to love each other, not as the world loves but as Christ loves – sacrificially. John says words are not enough; Christlike love demands action. If we see a brother or sister in need yet close our hearts and have no compassion, how can the love of God remain in us (17)? This is why the Acts 2 church flourished, physical, and spiritual needs were met.
Loving each other as Christ loves us is terribly inconvenient, messy and a little emotional. It makes us want to look for new emojis. Yet John says when we love our brothers and sisters in Christ, “it proves that we have passed from death to life” (14). When we can love each other like Christ loves us, then and only then, can we truly live the abundant life Jesus died to give us.
Whatever is suppressing His love in your life, name it, confess it and be FREE! How can you start loving others unconditionally as Christ loves you? Describe a time when you experienced life-giving love that changed you.
