PART 2 OF 3
Continuing from Part 1, John now begins to speak of love and hatred for fellow believers. If we truly know God is within us, we keep His commands. If we do not keep His commands, the truth is not in us.
Our love for God is complete if we will just obey His Word. That can be a hard thing to do at times. The times I’ve disobeyed His Word have been a disgrace, truly, but haven’t we all disobeyed His commands at some point?
I know that each of us can learn and obey even though it may not be easy. We must live as Jesus did, full of love for one another. It is only then that we know we live in Him, carrying out His Word. Obeying His Word comes as living like Jesus did.
“Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.” (2:9)
We live in the light when we love one another and live according to God’s will. When we hate, we do not know where we are going because the darkness blinds us spiritually. It can be hard to love others who have hurt us or when they don’t love us back. Just know that you are still doing the right thing by loving and not hating.
That’s a good start for us to learn how to forgive as well. Forgive just as Jesus has forgiven you. There will be nothing to make us stumble if we follow His command on love. Love is a huge thing with God. He wants us to love EVERYONE.
“The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the Will of God lives forever.” (2:17)
I want to be fulfilled with the Word of God so I can do the Will of God and live forever. John will continue with the warnings against denying Christ. Haven’t we heard before; no truth comes from a lie? As all people have fallen short of the Glory of God, some deny Christ altogether.
We are instructed to do the Will of God. This means to do as it is written and be righteous and uphold God’s covenant. Simply, anything that God asks from us, we do. It really is an important instruction. Just as simple as the decision is for some to obey Christ, it can be a more difficult decision for others.
I am simply providing direction and guidance to anyone that reads according to what the Bible says. I pray for your direction too! For you, my friend, this is an eternal decision and only one that you can make. God never promised us an easy life, but He promises us salvation if we come to Him and live according to His Word.
Discover more from Thirty-Seven & Rooted
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Thirty-Seven & Rooted 
May we all strive to live in His light and follow His will. Amen 🙏
LikeLike
Amen, Amanda! Such truth and beautiful wisdom. This is something that God’s teaching our family personally right now. We’re in a dark season but God’s actively leading us toward the light. Please be praying for us!
And keep writing, friend. The world needs this wisdom!
LikeLike
Yea ma’am i absolutely will add you to my personal prayer list. I do pray for peace and guidance for you and your family. We all have those seasons, and unfortunately, it won’t be your last.
BUT what I do know is that YOU have God to get you through it. And he will. He will get you all through the highs and lo’s, valley and mountains. Believe it or not, you will learn from this darkness.
As always, thanks for reading, and I’m glad you found wisdom in this. Message me Ericka, I’d be glad to talk! So much Prayers!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much, Amanda!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for saying so. Yes, sharing the Gospel is a huge part of loving people. That’s probably number one. There’s also a need to tell the truth in a world of lies people tell others and themselves.
Living like Jesus is more than just platitudes, it’s active and sometimes heart breaking. People are going to reject the truth and the love we bring them. But loving them means no matter how much they reject it, we give it even more.
LikeLiked by 2 people
That’s a great response, actually! There is so much to living like Jesus. And heartbreaking is true. I bet we know a person or two, where it breaks our heart, but reject Jesus no matter what we say to them. I was recently told to never stop telling them what I know about Jesus. They are very special to me, and I never will.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I don’t know if you’ve seen the video floating around, but Penn Gillette (of Penn and Teller) was on it. He is vehemently atheist, but he gets one thing very right. If we believe what we believe, we should never shut up about it. He essentially says that if we believe we have life saving information (which we do), the. We should do everything in our power to make sure everyone we love believes too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree on never shutting up about it, lol, in a different sense, like you. I believe it’s my job to speak what I know. I take my own studies from the bible and simply put them on a blog for all to see. I’m already studying it, why not share it? It’s how I feel. Like you, you have some excellent pieces yourself. Never stop!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re right about loving like Jesus. But what does that look like? It’s easy to say, just love. But today that word has been co-opted to mean something it was not supposed to mean. Thank you for sharing. Keep up the great work!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Matthew. I agree that word can be thrown around. I dont put much of my personal opinion in my writing, but im glad you asked in my comments.
I would personally say that loving like Jesus is meeting the needs of others, showing and walking the ways Jesus did and how he wants us to be. Which would be speaking/sharing the gospel, showing humility and being true to ourselves and others. Following God’s will, his commands is a form of loving ourselves and others too.
There’s so much on love that can mean many things but I believe that is a big part on loving like Jesus. I’d love to hear your opinion on what you personally think it means?
As always, thanks for reading!
LikeLiked by 1 person