1 John 4:20-21
If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
When Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment, He responded by saying, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40). Because the Christian is marked by obedience to God’s commands, and love is the greatest of all commands (in fact the summation of the commandments), then he/she must love. The love we’ve been called to is both for God and for our neighbour.
On the face of it, this looks easy. However, we must realise that we are inherently sinful and selfish. As a result, we don’t love as we should. The apostle John points out that it is easy to claim to love God. This is because loving God doesn’t seem to cost us anything. But the true test of our love for God is our love for those around us. The two commandments are joined to the hip. In other words, if one truly loves God, then that will manifest in their love for others. Also, one cannot truly love their neighbour if they don’t love God. God is spirit and therefore invisible, and our love for Him is best expressed in our love for His image bearers. Jesus’ own words sum it up for us today:
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)
Reflections
1. Is there someone that you find hard to love? Exercise your Christianity by choosing to love them.
