The command that Christ has given us is this: whoever loves God must love others also. —1 John 4:21 (GNT).
Too often people say they love God yet refuse to speak to certain members in church. They claim to love God but nurse malice, hold grudges, and find it difficult to forgive. When you ask them, they insist there’s no problem—but their behaviour tells a different story. Beloved, you cannot live like that and be approved by God; while He does not condemn you out of hand and still loves you, He does not endorse malice, grudges, or unforgiveness.
God’s way of testing whether we truly love Him is simple: do we love people? John makes the point plain a verse earlier: If we say we love God, but hate others, we are liars. For we cannot love God, whom we have not seen, if we do not love others, whom we have seen. —1 John 4:20 (GNT).
So the proof of your love for God is the way you treat others. You cannot honestly claim to love God while nursing bitterness or refusing forgiveness. The next time you’re tempted to keep malice or hold a grudge, remember that your devotion to God is being tested. Choose instead to prove your love for God by genuinely loving others—by forgiving, by speaking kindly, and by seeking reconciliation where needed.
Today’s Rhema
God’s way of knowing that you truly love Him is that you love others.
Confession for the Day
Father, I am grateful for this timely truth. The grace to genuinely love others is at work in me now and all the days of my life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
