If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother."
Love! The word can mean almost anything in a world where it is overused and under-practiced. Many in the Christian community have tried to define it by a dictionary or lexicon, not realizing that the key word for love, agape, is defined by action. Before Christians got a hold of agape, it meant basically the same thing our word "love" is used today: just about anything! But if you read 1 John, you see love defined by God through what he does. God demonstrates his love. He asks us to do the same for our brothers and sisters. Love must be more than talk; love must be genuinely demonstrated in loving, selfless actions!
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son... (John 3:16). This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us (1 John 3:16). This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:10).
Precious Father, you have so graciously shared your love with me. I must confess, in my heart, I intend to love others as you do, but my intentions often get washed away with busyness, selfishness, or timidity. Father, through your Spirit, I ask that you prompt me to demonstrate my love to others in actions, not just words. Through Jesus, your most significant demonstration of love, I pray. Amen.
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