Have you ever wondered if God loves you? Well, Apostle John in 1 John 3 argues that all the proof we need is found in the death of Jesus Christ. He writes in 1 John 3:16, “By this we know love, that Jesus laid down his life for us.” That’s certainly what Jesus did. He died on that cross, laid down His life, as an act of love. In fact, some have stated that it wasn’t the nails that kept Jesus on the cross. It was love!
Apostle John famously quoted Jesus in the Gospel of John, chapter 3, verse 16, demonstrating God’s love of us through Jesus. Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten son, that whosoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life.” So, if you want to see God’s love, just look at Jesus.
But here in 1 John 3, Apostle John pivots from God’s love for us to our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. He says that since Jesus lovingly laid down His life for us, we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. He’s not talking about dying for our brothers and sisters in Christ but rather sacrificing for them. He says, “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.”
As God loved us, we ought to love our brothers and sisters. If they are in need and we can help, then we should help. If they don’t have and we have, then we should share. We are to love one another through deeds.
But not just through deeds, but also through truth. If our brother or sister is in the wrong and we know what’s right, then we should share truth with them. That’s the loving thing to do!
Does God love you? He most certainly does. Do you love your brothers and sisters in Christ? You most certainly should.
Change begins in you!
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