Read 1 John 3:16-24

Read 1 John 3:16-24

¹⁶This is how we know what love is: Christ gave his life for us. We too, then, ought to give our lives for our brothers and sisters! ¹⁷Rich people who see a brother or sister in need, yet close their hearts against them, cannot claim that they love God. ¹⁸My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action.

19 This, then, is how we will know that we belong to the truth; this is how we will be confident in God’s presence. ²⁰If our conscience condemns us, we know that God is greater than our conscience and that he knows everything. ²¹And so, my dear friends, if our conscience does not condemn us, we have courage in God’s presence. ²²We receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. ²³What he commands is that we believe in his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as Christ commanded us. ²⁴Those who obey God’s commands live in union with God and God lives in union with them. And because of the Spirit that God has given us we know that God lives in union with us.

Think

Love should not just be talk, it should show action.  This is a hard teaching - but it is true.  This is why we need a Christian community that gathers around us and works together to love.

Pray

Lord, help me to love practically as you have taught me to love.