Main Text:

11This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. 13Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. 14We 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. 19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. (1 John 3:11-20)

Reference Text:

12 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go up this mountain in the Abarim range and see the land I have given the Israelites. 13 After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, 14 for when the community rebelled at the waters in the Desert of Zin, both of you disobeyed my command to honor me as holy before their eyes.” (These were the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin.) 15 Moses said to the LORD, 16 “May the LORD, the God of the spirits of all mankind, appoint a man over this community 17 to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the LORD’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.” (Num 27:12-17)

Pertinent Questions:

1. What does 1 John 3:14 tell us about the consequence of unlove?
Anyone who does not love remains in death and therefore is an unregenerate, not a true Christian.

2. What is unlove? Does unlove mean hatred?
Unlove does not only mean hatred. It also refers to indifference (1Jn 3:17) and insincerity (1Jn 3:18).

3. What is the extent of Christian love?
We ought to love our brethren at the cost of our own time, comfort, safety and even life (1Jn 3:16). Genuine love for brethren is to forget self and hasten to the needs of another (see Moses in Num 27:12-17).

4. What if I don’t love perfectly, does it mean I’m not Christian?
No. We all fall short of loving perfectly. However, the pursuit to excel in love is characteristic of Christians. In other words, true Christians do not give in to deliberate compromises.

The Prayer:
Lord, we confess that we often love poorly, yet we do love and may you strengthen our struggling love for one another. We are guilty of loving ourselves more than we love fellow Christians… Our sympathies and commiseration are too often only for ourselves. Pour love into our hearts so that we may love one another to your glory and honour, so that men will know we are your disciples and give you praise. Amen.