In Defense Of Life

1 John 3:10-23

10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

Love one another
11 This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.

15 Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.

16 This 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. 17 If 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? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19 This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20 whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.

Bee's Thoughts:

"Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer" (v15). That's serious! What did John mean by that?

John gave the example on how Cain hated his brother, Abel, and then ended up murdering him. The seeds of hatred and unforgivingness in our hearts are tools used my the devil to cause strife and even murders amongst fellow humans.

As children of God not only we shouldn't hate our brothers, instead, we should love to the extent of willing to "lay down our lives for our brothers". This is true love "with actions and in truth". This is a self-sacrificing love.

Isn't that a tall order? I think so, since it refers to "our brothers (all born-again Christians, not just our loved ones). If we can't even love to that extend for those close to us, how can we talk about loving just another Christian whom we don't know? Yet, that's a command from God.

We know that God will never ask us to do something we can't do. Therefore, when He commands us to love in that way, I believe He will give us that kind of agape love to do it when the time comes. On our part, perhaps we need to practice agape love on the few who are close to us first, and extend the love to more and more Christians each day as we allow God's love to fill our heart.


Dear Lord,
Thank You for Your reminder today that agape love is what You require from me. You are love. By letting You live in me is by letting love dwells in me too. I have the power to love in the way You want me to because You lives in my heart.

Yes, "love covers a multitude of sins." (1 Peter 4:8). Thank You for helping me to forgive those who have hurt me and still love them with Your love, if they allow me to... I can't force anyone to accept such love. I pray that they too will let Your love flows thorugh.

In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Love One Another