1 John 5:1–2 (NKJV) — 1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.
“Keep His commandments.” Warren Wiersbe wrote, “Everything in creation—except man—obeys the will of God.”
We are to love. We are to love God. We are to love the children of God. A true believer in Christ loves other believers in Christ. How is this possible? As a believer we have the nature of God, we are born of God. Because God is love we love because we have the nature of God!
My mother always said, “Love begins at home.” I had two older sisters. We did not always agree but we loved each other. We had differences of opinions, ways of doing things, likes and dislikes but we never allowed these to come between us in our love.
What a witness to the world! The love of God is on display to others. Loving God is more than mere words. God’s love is displayed in the lives of His children AND is seen in the world. This love is a sacrificial love. It is a love giving of oneself to others.
John 13:34–35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another.”
1 Thessalonians 3:12 “And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you.”
1 Peter 1:22 “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart.”
1 John 3:16 “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”