Author: David Short

2 John 1:6

This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.

Personal Challenge

So! What are these commandments that we are expected to walk according to? They are to love God with all of our heart, soul, and spirit and to love our neighbor as ourself. The essence of God is love. This love comes to us in the form of mercy and grace. God redeems us through His son out of love. He forgives our sins out of love. He gives us eternal life out of love. If we desire to serve Him and be like His Son, we must walk in Him and love. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

1 John 5:10-12

He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Encouraging Words

What is life? I have often heard that life boils down to the dash between two numbers. It is indeed much more than that. It is what we do within the span of that dash. The most important thing that we can do in that span is to give our lives over to God through His Son. By doing this, we experience the true gift of life that extends that dash through the eternity that follows. We become children of God, eternally in His family. That is truly life. Glory be to God!

1 John 4:20

If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

Personal Challenge

The scriptures are very clear, if we say that we love God and yet spurn those around us in a spirit of hatred, then our proclamation of loving God is a lie. This problem is so prevalent in both our society and our churches today. There are those who side with their political party, viscerally hating the people that side with the other party, and yet they profess to be Christians. There are those who disagree with the choices of others that conflict with their own choices, especially in areas of sexuality, race, abortion, and a myriad of other social issues, who end up hating the offenders, and yet they profess to be Christians. These professing Christians end up as liars in God’s eyes. It is clearly our responsibility, our obligation, if we are followers of Christ, to love everyone, no matter what their choices are. We are not to agree with their choices, if they are contrary to God’s desire for us, but we are to still love the person as God loves us. This is indeed a difficult challenge to overcome, but one that God promises to see us through. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

1 John 4:10-12

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.

Personal Challenge

We have such a misconstrued understanding of love in our culture today.. We love our spouse and children and yet at the same time we love our pet, our favorite sport team, or a myriad of other things with the same fervor. The scriptures try to teach us that godly love far surpasses any of the temporal love that we are so familiar with. Deeper studies into the Greek that the new testament scriptures were written in reveals that there were multiple words used for love: philia, agape, eros, and storge. To understand the scriptural teachings on love and how to live a godly life of love, we must understand this. God has shown us His agape love for us and expects us to do the same to those in our lives. It is only through doing this that we will see God abiding in us. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

1 John 4:4

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Encouraging Words

There are many who proclaim that they follow Christ and yet they do not know Him or follow His ways. God has promised us that if we follow Him, submit to Him, and strive to love like Jesus loved, that we are in Him and that through Him we will overcome those who oppose Him. This is true because He is greater than those who are in the world. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me the sinner!

1 John 3:18

My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

Personal Challenge

John does not mince any words about the Christian’s responsibility to love others. He clearly reminds us that we cannot just talk about loving others. We must, if we are truly followers of Christ, demonstrate His love for others the way that He would. This means that if they make us uncomfortable by their choices, or do things that we disagree with, or they stand for issues that are in opposition to what we believe, or whatever ,we still love them. Love is a choice followed by an action. Sometimes that love is demonstrated by backing away from toxic situations so that we do not stir up others, and do that in love. Being a true follower of Christ is a verb and never a noun. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

1 John 3:16

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Personal Challenge

We know and appreciate the true value of real love by recognizing that Jesus loved us so much that He laid down His life for us. This is the truth that we base our entire life on. This truth also leads us to do the same for Him and those whom He brings into our lives. We are to love one another as Christ loved us. Living this way is always a challenge in this world, but we do it for Him. Glory be to God!

1 John 3:1

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

Encouraging Words

The faithful followers of Christ are deemed to be called children of God. We have God’s love bestowed upon us to the point that we are His children, His offspring. What a blessing this is to be considered a part of God’s eternal family. This also brings the challenge that if we strive to live as His children, the world will not know us any longer and even shun us. This is such a small price to pay in order to be accounted as a child of God. Glory be to God!