1 John 2:7-11 (ESV)
Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
1 John 3:15-18 (ESV)
Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
In John 15:12 We reach that Jesus told his disciples to love another, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” John in I John wrote that we should have love and not hate. The Greek word for hate translated in I John 2 would mean any degree of hate. We need to follow after the example of Christ in showing love to all men. Christ gave himself for us when we were unworthy and lost in sin. We were separated from God and yet Christ was willing to die for us to reconcile us back to God. When we consider the grace and love that God has shown us we should be compelled to show grace and love to those around us.
My favorite passage when thinking about the attributes of the love of a Christian is 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (ESV)
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love is patient. Our love should endure all things and time does not change our love. Our love should allow us to show kindness to others. Our love should cause us to want the best for others and even want them to have the best. When we love someone we want to do everything we can for them, we want them to have our best. When we love someone we rejoice in their success. The success of the ones we love does not make us feel of ourselves or less for them, but rather joy and appreciation for them. Love doesn’t get irritated or resentful. Love doesn’t rejoice in wrong, but rejoices in truth. Love allows us to bear all challenges. Love allows us to look for the best in those we love. Love for another allows us to give everything we have, expecting nothing in return, seeking the best for those whom we love. Developing this kind of love, the love Paul wrote about in I Corinthians 13 should be the goal for each of us in our life for everyone. When we show this type of love in our marriage, in our families, in the church, and to all those around us there will be “no cause for stumbling” in us as John wrote about. Christ was the ultimate example of a life of love in action. If we seek to have our love to imitate the love God and Christ have shown us we will be well pleasing to our Heavenly Father. When we are having difficulty showing love to others we should remember our Savior’s example. We should also turn to prayer when we feel our love challenged. At those times we should pray for strength and pray for those whom we are having difficulty showing the love of Christ too.
John 13:35 (ESV)
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
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