Love-Real or Imagined

Day 15 - Love-Real or Imagined

1JN 4:20 ASV

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, cannot love God whom he hath not seen. 4:20 ASV

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, cannot love God whom he hath not seen.

For many who were born into a semblance of a Christian family, we were brought up to commit Bible verses to memory or recite things by heart. We knew many of those passages by heart and we could recite them off the top of our heads without much thought. Unfortunately, this is where it mostly ended- a lot of head knowledge and no heart application. We had people who knew the words of the Bible, but did not know the God behind the words or His expectations for their lives. The sons of Sceva in Acts 19: 13- 16 were like that too. Unfortunately, it took just one demon-possessed man to reveal their emptiness.

Today's extract seeks to take our focus back to the important things in our walk with God. When we claim we know and love God, proof of it must be seen in our lives and in our relationships with other people. After all, people around us are the ones that our lives must minister to, and if there is no difference between what we profess and what the world confesses, then there's a problem with the quality and value of the faith that we claim to have.  Love for God is easy to profess because nobody can hold you accountable for it, but God demands that I show proof of my love for him in my relationships with fellow human beings.

If I claim I love God, while also hating a fellow man, it then means that I live a double-standard life, one where what I say does not match what I do. Unfortunately for us as Christians, people don't care too much about what you say, they are more focused on what you do. Love is an action word, it is never passive or just confessed by mouth alone; our lives must show that we love or we don't. God has placed us in the world as his examples and his disciples, and if we claim to follow him, then obedience to his commands is the primary focus of his disciples.

As we go out today, let us not just be content with lip-confession of love, but a life-profession of love for all people that God has created. After all, it is because of His love for me that I can stand where I am today saved, sanctified and secure for eternity. I must live and love in a way that my life will attract others to the same saving knowledge on Jesus. His time of favour is here.

PRAYER- Lord, help me to love others just as you have loved me. Help me be a living witness to your saving grace and power, so that others may seek to know you through my life, love, conduct and conversation. Amen