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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And He has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
1 John 4:20-21
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Have you ever fell victim to a dishonest lover?
Unfortunately, I have and it’s not a very pleasant experience.
Indeed, there are plenty of people out there who tend to say they love someone but it’s not really true. They are often just using love as a way to get what they want.
This is a self serving love and it definitely is far from the love the Lord wants us to give, a love that is pure and genuine, a love that only comes from Him.
In yesterday’s message, we learned that God is the only source of true love and to tap into it we have to love Him with all our heart and mind and soul and strength (Mark 12:30-31). When we are fully devoted to Him, then He is able to work through us and that includes loving others as He loves.
This is a love that is legitimate and flawless. It’s a love that leaves no room for hatred, the polar opposite of love. And perhaps this is the best way to tell if someone is a dishonest lover through the lens of the Lord. For when we fail to give Him all our love, then we leave room for Satan to lead us into unloving attitudes and behaviors.
With this as a backdrop, let’s now look at the closing verses of 1 John, chapter 4. Here’s what we read in verses 20 and 21:
You’re deceiving others by not loving truthfully...loving as God loves.
You’re sinning against God by not loving as He has commanded. The only way our love can be as He expects is when we love as He does.
Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And He has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
Is there hatred in your heart for someone?
If so, you are a liar if you claim to love God because no one who truly loves God as He expects, giving Him full affection above anything else, can possible hate another. The scriptures are clear here that it’s impossible to love God if you hold hatred for “a brother or sister”.
God’s command is clear.
Anyone who loves Him must love others, a love void of any trace of hate.
In the end translation, God doesn’t want us to be dishonest lovers. It’s up to us to allow Him to keep us from going there in life.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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