“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (‭‭1 John‬ ‭3:18‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

What is love? How can you tell someone loves you? How do you show love? It’s obviously more than a gooey, romantic feeling. Love shows up as a sacrificial, selfless action for the good of others.

Today’s verse comes from a short New Testament letter that features several tests to determine if you’re truly a Christian. One of the tests is featured here: Do you love others, especially your brothers and sisters in the faith?

Check out John’s reinforcement of this command of the Christian faith:

“For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” (‭‭1 John‬ ‭3:11‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

“We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.” (‭‭1 John‬ ‭3:14‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

“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 ‭ESV‬‬)

“And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.” (‭‭1 John‬ ‭3:23‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

And one final, potentially bone-chilling verse:

“By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” (‭‭1 John‬ ‭3:10‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

Also, the Love Chapter. Boom. 🤛🏼❤️

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things…. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:4-7, 13‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

• Do these passages describe your life?
• What other passages of Scripture teach us about love?
• What are practical ways to love others?

Remember and apply God’s greatest commandment—everything else flows from this Divine directive:

“And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.’” (Matthew‬ ‭22:35-37, 39-40‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

[Follow my journey of 30 Days of Bible Lettering here.]