True Love

We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.


The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him.

This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.

But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.



It is not hard to understand why Jesus chose twelve disciples. But why these particular men? Six were from the same fishing crew. Three more may have also been from there—James the lesser, Jude, and Thomas. But the last three—Matthew, Simon Zelotes, and Judas—seem like a mistake. Matthew was a tax collector and Roman collaborator. Simon was a terrorist. Judas was an outsider. What was Jesus thinking?

Jesus chose these men as a lesson to others. In the Kingdom of God there must be no racial or ethnic divisions. They would be one family together, growing in love, respect, and encouragement.

John tells us in these verses that the God’s kingdom is based on love. He says that we should obey his commandment. Love is the specific commandment he references here. God’s love is to be realized in us. He wants us to love each other.

The beginning of Christ’s kingdom (John says) is a dawn. Before we walked in darkness, but now we walk in light. Not everyone has seen the light, but is is coming for all. The way you can tell those who walk in light and those who walk in darkness is by this quality of love. Those who walk in light love each others. You can’t be in the kingdom unless you walk in light, and you can’t walk in light unless you love each other.

How do we know if we really are walking in love?

True love of others has four characteristics

1. Love means forgiving past wrongs,

In the new kingdom, there is no room for the resentments of the past. When Jesus gathered together his disciples, there was no room for Peter to think how Matthew had cheated him at the tax tables, or how Simon had tried to kill Matthew. All of that had to be forgotten once the new kingdom began.

I know how hard that is for us humans. Anyone who has been hurt knows the sting of resentment, and our animal desire for revenge. When we love a person that is or was our enemy, that sting does not immediately go away. Forgiveness is not reconciliation. It is simply a commitment for forgo vengeance upon those who have wronged us.

There are some people who have deeply wronged me in the past. There are even som who I would feel uncomfortable sharing a room or a car with them. But that does not mean I want revenge. I am happy to leave retribution up to the Lord, and leave it at that.

That goes not only for people who have wronged me, but groups as well. Let me tell you about the most prejudiced man I ever met. He worked in a company where he had missed several promotions. Blacks and women were promoted over him. He was sure this was because of their gender or skin color. So he hated blacks and women. The real truth was (as anyone who knew him could tell) he was passed over because of his terrible attitude. He was deeply angry and deeply depressed. He was also self-destructive.

Was he angry and resentful because he had been mistreated, or was he mistreated because he was angry and resentful? No one could say for sure.

It’s easy to get mad and the world today. It’s easy to get mad at every Arab you see because of 9-11, or to get mad at every Mexican you see because of illegal immigration. But what good does it do? How can we begin the dawn of a new day, when we are still growling in the darkness of the old one? Whatever way you want to look at it, the man needed a new start. That new start was impossible because of his anger and resentment. Forgiveness is what we do when we don’t want to be ruled by the past.

2. Love offers help in trouble.

No matter how prejudice or angry we might be, common decency will usually compel us to rescue people in need. A doctor on the battlefield does not just treat soldiers on his side, but will treat anyone of any side who needs the help. It is part of their Hippocratic Oath. Policmen take a vow to protect the citizenry, whether they like them or not. Firefighters don’t ask you about your politics before they put out the fire at your house. If emergency workers make no such distinctions when faced with an immediate danger, shouldn’t the people of God be also so inclined?

I love snow days, not because of the snow alone, but because he attitudes of people we meet. On snow days, when travel is harder, people are more helpful, more considerate, and more prone to notice those with needs. In Florida, our church helped man a homeless shelter in bad weather. Believe it or not, it was a great competition between members and churches to help when the temperature dropped below forty degrees. People help stranded travelers because hey want to. That spirit of helpfulness should be part of the church also.

When we hear of needs in our church, are we there to help? Do we drive people to the doctor when they need it? Do we visit the sick and the old? Are we helping people find jobs and take care of their families when they get laid off? The first sign of Christian love in the church is how we help people in the church with their needs.

3. Love appreciates the beauty of others.

We sometimes say that love is a decision, not an emotion. But there are also undeniable emotional aspect to Christian love. One such aspect is to learn to appreciate people’s differences of outlook without condemning or condoning.

Take, for example the relationship between old and young. Our church is facing a crisis of age. We have too many old members. Sure we want young members—but why? What do we have that would make younger members want to come here?

In our society there are undeniable cultural distinctions between old and young. That is because social customs no longer last a lifetime. Music has changed, humor has changed, technology has changed. Old people, do you understand and appreciate what younger people have? If you see a rock musician playing his guitar, and you don’t like rock, can you at least admire the skill with which he plays, and acknowledge that skill as a gift of God/

Young people, do you appreciate what the old have to offer you? Mark Twain once said that when he was sixteen the thought his father was an idiot, but that it was amazing what that man had learned by the time he was twenty-one! The old have much to teach you. If you think it is all passé, can you at least acknowledge their skill and courage, that put you where you are?

Today, we are being invaded by in this culture by all kinds of foreign culures. Hispanics are pouring over our borders. It is easy to sneer at their food and make fun of their language, but can we at least appreciate that God has given them beauty and skill like ours.

The most important aspect of really loving each others it to give others respect and the freedom to be themselves. We should not disrespect the parts of others and other cultures that others find beautiful.

4. Love wishes others a future success

I am convinced that our love can build this church. Todo this, we must love those who are different from us. More than that, we must work for their success.

Any good salesman will tell you that the only way to be successful in sales is to actually like your clients. You want them to prosper, and you think you have a product that will help them prosper. If we love the people around us, we will put forth programs and ideas that will help them succeed, and show them Jesus, who can help us succeed.

Our society is becoming increasingly profane in its language. Some things that used to be profane are said regularly, so much in fact that they are no longer seen as profane. One expression that we hear more and freely used, for example is for someone to tell another to go to hell.

Have you ever told another to go to hell? Did you mean it? There is nothing more horrible to wish on a person to that. Who could have the least bit of love in their heart and with them to go to hell?

Yet when we ignore the eternal destination of others, we may as well tell them to go to hell. When we say that we don’t want a particular kind of person in our church, we are telling them to do to hell. When we have the opportunity to tell another about Christ, or lead them to come the church where they can hear the Gospel, we have told them to go to hell. When we do not care what happens to a person eternally, and would rather not have certain kinds of people with us in heaven, then we are consigning them to hell as surely as we do when we tell someone to go to hell. God does not want this. Loving others is wanting the best for them, both now and for all eternity.

We do this, because Christ has already done it for us. Everything I have just listed as aspects of love are things that Jesus has already done for us.

--He forgave our sins. Jesus could have shown resentment and vengeance against those who killed Him, but instead he asked God to forgive them.

--He rescues us. Jesus went out of His way to help us escape our selfish, destructive lives.

--He appreciates our God-given uniqueness. Jesus takes all kinds of people in his kingdom—whites, blacks, Mexicans, Arabs, Africans, Asians—everyone. He takes liberals and right-wingers, bikers and bankers, cowboys and hippies—every kind you can imagine. Jesus is so open and so loving that he has even loved you. (doesn’t squeeze us into a mold)

--He wants you to have a good tomorrow. Jesus is looking forward to the day when His whole family will be gathered together in the same place in heaven—all races, classes and cultures. He looks forward to having you at His table.

Don’t miss your opportunity to spend eternity with Jesus. him in his kingdom, and walk in love, which is the same as walking in the light.