Love One Another

1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that loves is born of God, and knows God.”

God is love (1 John 4:16), so it makes perfect sense for those who are born of God to have that same love in their hearts as well. Romans 5:5 says, “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.” If you are born of God, you are born of love, and that love is in you, and ready to operate through you.

God’s love, not human love, is what we are to use to love one another. Human love is not the same as God’s agape love. Human love is dependent on what someone does. It is very performance-based. Most of the time, when human love is spoken of, it is lust and not love.

God’s love is an everlasting love. God loved first. His love didn’t wait on a guaranteed response. The definition of God’s love is found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. These scriptures tell us what God’s love is and what it is not. We should begin to show forth this kind of love to everyone who is our brother and sister in the Lord. Everyone who really shows the God kind of love has to be born of God. It is with that love we are to love one another.

John 13:35 (NLT) says, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” When the world sees the Body of Christ really loving one another as God loves us, they will take notice, especially in the current environment.

You don’t have to agree with someone to love them, but you do have to agree with them to be close to them and walk with them. God loves the world, but He doesn’t agree with them because they won’t walk in His ways. He will never stop loving them. That’s the same attitude we must take. We may not agree with them, so we can’t walk closely with them, but we will love them with the love of God that has been put in our hearts, and we will love them with our whole heart.