LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR

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. 1 John 4:20.

• Keep His Command

God is love and He shows us this love daily. He gives us life, forgives our sins, heals our diseases, cleanses us from unrighteousness, etc.

The question is;

What could we do to reciprocate His love?

My answer is to love Him back.

If that is the case,

How do I know I love Him?

My answer is “keeping His commands”.

In John 14:15 from the NIV, Jesus said “If you love me, you will obey what I command.

KJV says “if you love me, keep my commandments”.

AMP says “If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands.”

And MSG says “If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you.”

What command was He talking about?

In Chapter 13, and verse 34 of the same John, He said “A new command I give you: LOVE one another. As I have LOVE you, so you must love one another.” In verse 35, He continued that “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

The point is clear that a true follower of our Lord Jesus Christ is the one who loves his or her neighbour in words, and in deeds. Therefore if you don’t love your brother or sister, then the LOVE of God is not in you. You are not walking in light. You are still walking in darkness according to the scriptures

• Gift of Love

Love is the greatest gift you could ever offer to your neighbour. It is supreme. It is the greatest among the three giants; FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE. The reason being that GOD is LOVE: 1 John 4:8 “whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” Friends, let us take the opportunity we have each day  to show our Love to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord, by LOVING others. 1 John 4:20 says “If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar”

Examine yourself today;

1. Do you find it difficult to love someone (a friend, relative, etc, because they hurt you)?
2. Do you have someone you don’t want to see, hear from, talk to, etc?
3. Do you hate someone on this planet?
4. Do you easily forgive when your neighbour sin against you?

• The word “HATE”

“Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him” 1 John 3:15. I always advise people to stop using the word “HATE”. God is love and we have to talk about love. Instead of saying “I hate this phone because it is given me enough headache”, you could say “I pray this phone works properly because I love it some much”. I bless things so they stay strong and beautiful all the time. I would also encourage you not to hate your fellow human being. It does not matter whether that fellow is a Christian or not. Love everybody you see.

• What God wants from you?

God is not expecting you to show others that you LOVE him. Rather, He wants you to show Him that you LOVE your neighbour. “If we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us”.  “¹² No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.” 1 John 4:12 New Living Translation (NLT) When you meet someone and he bleeds red, love him generously because he is your brother or sister.

Today, even now, if you have anything against anyone, no matter the intensity please forgive, and make peace. Don’t go about bragging about your love for God while your spirit is not at peace with someone. You would be deceiving yourself. I beseech you to let go all the pains, hurts, disappointments, heart breaks, etc and be at peace with all men.

Show love to your wife or husband. Love your friends, love those who curse you. Continue loving those who hate you and say all manner of things against you. You may not meet some of the people you see today tomorrow.

If that person dies today, when and where are you going to make peace? Today is the day we have. Make the most of the day. Love your neighbours

I will close with this:

1 John 3:21-24 The Message (MSG)

 ^21-24And friends, once that’s taken care of and we’re no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we’re bold and free before God! We’re able to stretch our hands out and receive what we asked for because we’re doing what he said, doing what pleases him. Again, this is God’s command: to believe in his personally named Son, Jesus Christ. He told us to love each other, in line with the original command. As we keep his commands, we live deeply and surely in him, and he lives in us. And this is how we experience his deep and abiding presence in us: by the Spirit he gave us.