Loving others

1 John 4:20-21 (NLT)
20 If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? 21 And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters.

Matthew Henry wrote -- As love to our brother and neighbour in Christ; such love is argued and urged on these accounts:—1. As suitable and consonant to our Christian profession. In the profession of Christianity we profess to love God as the root of religion: "If then a man say, or profess as much as thereby to say, I love God, I am a lover of his name, and house, and worship, and yet hate his brother, whom he should love for God’s sake, he is a liar (v. 20), he therein gives his profession the lie.’’ That such a one loves not God the apostle proves by the usual facility of loving what is seen rather than what is unseen: For he that loveth not his brother, whom he hath seen, how can he love God, whom he hath not seen?

 

 

Think about this -- if all the people you dislike or hate are the same people you believe God would dislike or hate then you have most likely created God out of your own imagination and not the words given to us in The Bible. God is a god of love, mercy and grace. To make God anything else makes us liars about God’s nature and our love for Him. Jesus gave us all a commandment in John 13:34-35 to obey, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.  Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

Unfortunately English allows the word “love” to be used in so many ways. The Greek version of the word “love” we want is agape. Agape love is described as being patient, kind, truthful, unselfish, trusting, believing, hopeful, and enduring. It is not jealous, boastful, arrogant, rude, selfish, or angry. True love never fails. The description perfectly fits God's love toward us, and should be the way we love each other and God. Unfortunately most of us will never live up to that entire definition of love, but wouldn’t it be nice if we tried.

In Matthew 22:37 when Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He said, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND."  He then added that the second most important law was "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." Jesus said that the entire law was dependent upon these two commandments. In other words, all that we do to please God comes out of love for God. If we cannot love man who we see, how can we love God who is unseen.