[Truth & Love] the PracticeSample

A Commandment for Truth and Love

Do you know what excited the apostle John the most? It was looking around and seeing believers walking in the truth, obeying Christ, and loving one another in the community.

When he says that he found some believers doing that, it could mean that he only witnessed what some were doing, not all of them. But it could also mean that he saw all of them, and some were not living in obedience to the Word they had received.

Theologian John Stott says, “To ‘walk in the truth’ is more than to give assent to it. It means to apply it to one’s behavior. Whoever ‘walks in the truth’ is an integrated Christian in whom there is no dichotomy between profession and practice. On the contrary, there is in him an exact correspondence between creed and conduct.”

When someone walks in truth, we all rejoice—it is a community thing—and we are inspired to do the same. We cheer our brothers and sisters up to go on and support them.

To walk in truth is a commandment that we receive from the Father. In his first letter, John explains that the Father’s commandment is twofold: we should believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another. These two commands characterize the believer’s way of life.

It is not surprising that John has no new command. He passes on that same commandment we received from Jesus since the beginning: To love one another as He loved us.

Love’s definition is quite simple. To love means to walk according to God’s commandments. And what is the commandment, according to Jesus, from which the whole Law and the Prophets hang? To love God and your neighbor. Which is the new commandment that Jesus gives? To love one another as He loved us.

Christ was the perfect example of how we love one another and how we can serve one another. He modeled how to do that by giving His life for us. How have you been loved by Christ? That is how we should love our fellow believers.

Just as a mother reminds her children daily of the habits she is trying to instill in them, John also pleads that we live this way and put into practice what we have heard: To love one another.

Lord, help us to live according to Your commands by loving God and loving one another. Fill us with that love to overflow, and remind us of Your love in times we forget.

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