A three year old girl came running into her father's study, crying. She had quarreled with her older brother and was complaining bitterly about him. Finally she said, "I don't love my brother anymore."

Her father took her on his knee to comfort her. When she had quieted down he told her, "But I love your brother AND I love you, too."

He watched his daughter thinking about these words and he could sense the struggle going on inside her. At last, she managed to say, "All right, then, I love my brother again, too."

The young girl's father was struck with how much the love among children may depend upon their relationship to their parents. Her daddy loved her brother, and because she loved daddy, his daughter was able to control her feelings toward her brother.

In the family of God, isn't there a similar experience; that our relationships with each other are dependent on our relationship with our heavenly Father.

For the third time in this Epistle John writes about the subject of love. He is not repeating himself because he has run out of ideas. Why is love such an important part of real Christian life? Three times in these verses read this morning we find the refrain love one another; first as an exhortation, second as a statement of duty, and third as hypothesis. What is the basis of this obligation? Why should we love one another?

We should love one another because of

I. What God Is. God is love.

In his Gospel writing and in his letters John has previously shared a variety of expressions concerning the nature of God. Spirit does not refer to flesh and blood, but essence, not limited by time and space. Light symbolizes holiness while darkness symbolizes sin. When we are born into God's family we receive his holy nature. John goes on tell us that love is from God, that it flows from God. God is the source and origin of all true love. Much that is called love today is false, it is not holy and spiritual. Christian, Godly love is special. It is born out of the essence of who God is. In Romans 5:5 we read, "This true love is poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

John wrote, "He who loves is born of God" He is describing one who has been born of God, born again, spiritually and has a personal relationship with God and therefore must reveal God's nature of love in his or her life.

The person who loves also knows God, not a mere intellectual acquaintance, but speaks of understanding in an intimate deep relationship. As David penned Psalm 23 and said The Lord is MY shepherd I believe he was describing such a relationship.

Those who have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior may certainly have some love, but lack the personal experience of being born again, born out of the essence of who God is, born into a love relationship with God. Some know about God in their head, but do not really know God in their heart. What God is determines what we ought to be and God is love. All that God is determines what we ought to be and God is love. All that God does expresses all that God is and all His activity is loving activity.

Some time ago I read the story of some radioactive material being stolen from a hospital. The news story said, "Please warn the thief that he is carrying death with him, and that the radioactive material cannot be successfully hidden. As long as he has it in his possession, it is affecting him disastrously!"

The true Christian must be affected by his or her relationship with God. We might compare this with a compass. A navigator uses the compass because he knows that it is the nature of the compass to point north. The Christian's nature is to practice love because that is the nature of God our Father.

We ought to love one another because of

II. What God Did. He sent His Son.

God, who is by nature, love, communicated love in words and deeds. My wife reminds me that love is an action word. We should love one another because of what God did. He expressed love in sending His Son. John wrote, "By this the love of God was manifested, made known, brought out into the open, made public.

What if your family got together and talked about love without doing it? It would hardly be loving. We should love one another because of what God did and He expressed His love in sending His son. John 3:16. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.

God was made known in Christ to take away our sins, to destroy the works of Satan at the cross. Paul wrote to the Romans: "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." (3:23) "Therefore as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned." (5:12) "If you confess with you lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved."

Agape is the love of self sacrifice, the seeking of another's positive good at one's own cost. Never has there been, nor could there ever be greater self giving than God's gift of His Son, a concrete historical expression of God's love. Christ died that we might live through Him and to make possible our forgiveness when we truly repent and receive Christ as our Savior.

If we have been to Christ's cross and experienced God's love that we do not deserve, then WE MUST LOVE. Yes, it is our duty, but is much better when we love out of appreciation.

Finally, we ought to love each other because of

III. What God Is Doing.

God has said something to us, done something for us and does something in us. We are participants in the drama of God's love. From the beginning of time it has been God's desire and plan to live in us. Before sin came the first man and woman had personal fellowship with God, but sin broke that fellowship.

Jesus came to earth and lived in fellowship with God the Father. Jesus sent His Spirit to abide in us forever. Six times in this passage abide is used. It carries the idea of remaining, staying, continuing, dwelling, enduring, staying power. The abiding of the Holy Spirit makes that possible for the child of God.

Christians abide in God's love. Our love for one another may be an evidence of God's indwelling presence. It is not always easy to love, really love, even within our families, even within the church family.

Conclusion:

Our love for one another is evidence of God's indwelling presence. Love is proclaimed as we tell God is love. Love is proved as we show what God did. Love is perfected as we continue to allow God to love through us.

G. Campbell Morgan was a well known British preacher and his five sons were preachers of the Gospel, too. They were once asked, "Which of you is the best preacher? Their united answer was, "Mother!"

A Salvation Army worker found an abandoned lonely woman in the street. She invited her to come to the chapel for help telling her, "We love you and want to help you. God loves you. Jesus died for you," but the woman refused. Then as if by divine impulse the Salvation Army worker leaned over, kissed the woman on the cheek, and took her into her arms. When she showed her God's loved she said she wanted to be saved.

Does God abide in you? He will, if you ask Him to.

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