1 John Part 11

The way we treat each other is important

We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.

16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:14-18

Sometimes we may be tempted to keep our faith between ourselves and God, and not let it influence us to get involved in the lives of others. We can philosophize and ponder why we are to reach out to others and not keep to ourselves, but the fact that God tells us to is enough. Understanding why helps, but it is not essential. Love one another.

How do we show love toward each other? John says we should lay down our lives for each other. Now if we need to die for one another we should be willing to do so, but the more difficult task is to daily put others' needs ahead of our own, to sacrifice our interests and well being for the sake of another.

Talk is cheap

Verse 18 shows that true love is shown in action, not words or 'feelings.' Words mean nothing if they are not backed up by action. Gary Chapman has come up with the concept of love languages, five different ways of showing love to others. The one that means the least to me is words of affirmation. It's probably because I've heard people make way too many promises and say things they didn't mean. How did I know they didn't mean it? Because their words were not backed up by actions. One actually has to do something to show love. Words alone don't count. The only time words mean something to me is if I can tell someone went out of their way to say something to me or I can tell it took courage for them to say what they did.

Love in truth

It's very important to note that love must take place in truth. Since true love is shown in actions, one must know the truth to know the proper actions to take. Glossing over sin is not love. Saying there are many ways to heaven is not love. Avoiding conflict is not love when the conflict is necessary. Doing something that's wrong or misguided even when you have the best of intentions is not loving, even if you meant the action to show love.