Day 12 of Advent
Friday 12/12
1 John 3:18
8 Dear children, let us not love with
words or speech but with actions and in truth.
1 John 4:20
20 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.
I really think these two verses taken together
bring out the heart of what it means to love God and your neighbor. Just
as James told us in yesterday’s scripture that this love of neighbor must be a
love of action. Yes, we are to tell people that we love but it is more
important to show them.
And with the second verse we are challenged that if we
love God with all our heart, soul and mind then we must love our brothers and
sisters. I can hear the question “who are my brothers and sisters”.
And the answer follows along the line of the parable of The Good
Samaritan. God is the father of all so if we are all children of God that
makes us all brothers and sisters. And just as God loves us all through
our imperfection we also are called to do likewise.
