Put Your Love into Action

If someone evaluated your salvation based on the love you show to fellow believers, how would they rate you? Could you point to your love as proof of your relationship with God?

In 1 John, the Apostle is giving his readers guidelines for evaluating true teachers from false teachers, and he’s already told them that one of the surest signs of true Christianity is love for one another (1 John 2:7-11). Now in 3:11-24, John mentions this Love test for the second time.

In verse 11, John continues what he’s said in the previous verse. The readers learned from the beginning that believers should love each other. John then gives an example of someone not known for his love. After all, Cain killed his brother (Genesis 4:1-16). 

According the Hebrews 11:4, Abel had faith, and Cain didn’t. In 1 John, the Apostle adds that Cain hated Abel for his righteousness. Nothing has changed much since Cain’s day. John knew that the world would hate believers because of their righteousness. Are you living in such a way that the world notices you’re different? Or do you try to blend in, not make waves, and hide your convictions about right and wrong?

In verse 14, John gets back to his point about love. Again, love is evidence of a relationship with God. We can’t earn eternal life by loving people, but love for people is a good sign that one is a believer. If there is little evidence that a person loves others, it’s a good indication the person isn’t a believer. 

John doesn’t just leave it there, though. 

Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. (1 John 3:15)

There’s never any gray area with John. To him, you either love or hate someone, there is no in-between. If you don’t love your fellow believers, you hate them. If you hate someone, it’s time to examine your relationship with Christ. If you don’t love, you hate, and followers of Jesus don’t hate. 

Since love is that important, then we must understand what love is. Fortunately, John tells us.

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. (1 John 3:16)

John defines love as an action, not a feeling. Jesus loves us, but what good would that love have done us if it was simply something Jesus felt? He acted on that love by giving his life for us. That’s the greatest example of love we have, and that’s how John expects believers to love.

But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. (1 John 3:17-18) 

To truly love someone means to be willing to meet their needs no matter what it costs us. If we have resources and a fellow believer doesn’t, and we refuse to help that person, then we’re not acting like a true child of God. We may be Christians, but we certainly aren’t living like it. 

People say, “I love everybody,” but saying you love everybody may be a way to not show love to anybody. Love means getting out of our comfort zone and involved in people’s lives. 

You and I both know that some people are not very lovable. Most of the time, the people who deserve your love the least are the ones who need it the most. 

A couple was going out for the evening, and when their Uber arrived, their cat shot back into the house. Not wanting to leave the cat in the house, the husband went inside to get the cat while the wife entered the taxi. Not wanting anyone to know that the house would be left empty, the wife said to the Uber driver, “He’ll just be a minute. He’s just going inside to say goodbye to my mother.” The husband came out after a few minutes and said, “Sorry it took so long, but the darned old thing was hiding under the bed, and I had to poke her with a coat hanger to get her to come out.” 

Sometimes even family members are unlovable. 

Maybe it isn’t individuals you have difficulty loving. Are there groups of people whom you, because of their ethnicity, socio-economic level, political party, or some other characteristic, have difficulty showing love to?

John tells you to love them. Doing so is a sign of being a child of God.

Love people. Do something. Give something. Use your resources to make a difference. 

Pray for them. God may not change them — he may change you instead. But don’t hide behind prayer and end up doing nothing physically for them. Love means action.

Do your actions show that you love others?

Verses 20-21 are, to me, two of the most powerful and under-appreciated verses in John’s writing:

…for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God. (1 John 3:20-21)

Maybe you’re examining yourself and realize that you don’t love fellow believers as you should. Or you’re convicted of another sin and overwhelmed by doubt and the feeling that nothing you do makes God happy with you. Your work to overcome sin is just not good enough. You’ve accepted what Christ did on the cross for you, and long ago you began a relationship with him, but you wonder how God could keep putting up with you. Surely, God has given up on you.

John says when these feelings come we can set our hearts at rest. If you’ve prayed to receive Christ, you are God’s child and will be forever. As your Father, God knows you better than you know yourself. Even though you sin, the very fact that you are convicted of your sin shows that you belong to God. 

God is greater than your heart, so go to God and let him comfort you in the middle of your doubt. Go back to 1 John 2:1. You have an Advocate, One who stands beside you declaring your innocence. Allow him to help you in your doubt as you rest in his eternal love and forgiveness.

John says there’s an even greater source of encouragement available to you:

Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. (1 John 3:24)

Whenever you need assurance of your salvation, don’t base your confidence or lack thereof on your imperfect obedience to God’s commands. Don’t focus only on your failure to win in your struggle with sin. Rely instead of the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. 

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. (Romans 8:14-16)

The Holy Spirit witnesses to you that you abide in him and he abides in you. He’ll give you all the assurance you need that you are a child of God.

John says the true child of God is characterized by a love for fellow believers that proves itself in action. He calls us to believe in Christ and love one another, which is one single commandment (3:24). 

Examine your love life. Allow what you find to motivate you to put your love into action, even for people you find it difficult to love. And when you, who have accepted God’s forgiveness through Christ, look at your shortcomings in the area of love, there’s no need to doubt your salvation. 

Instead, see where you fall short in love, and ask your Father to help you love others the way he loves you.

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