LOVE ONE ANOTHER

“He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

—1 John 4:8

Throughout the book of 1 John, the apostle is very concerned to exhort Christians to love one another, not just in word but in action. And John has emphasized this in different ways in his first epistle. For instance, 1 John 2:8-9, he calls us to love one another because love is what God commands. In chapter 3:14-15, John said believers need to love one another because true love is the evidence that we have been made a new creation in Christ. Love is the evidence that the Spirit of God has changed us on the inside and translated us from darkness to light. Jesus said to His disciples in John 13, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another as I have loved you.”

In 1 John 4:7-16, John argues that we ought to love one another because God is love, and God has demonstrated His love by giving His Son for our redemption. Therefore, if we have been adopted into the family of God and are being conformed into the image of Jesus Christ, then we ought to love one another in the same manner that God has loved us. Yes, it is a challenge to manifest this kind of love in the life of the church because of remaining sin, and that is exactly why the Scripture continually exhorts believers to love one another. “Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed” (Romans 13:10-11). “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7).

Tuesday Encouragement: June 11, 2024

In Christ,

Pastor S. Henry