The Sign Of A Christian

The Sign of a Christian

Q: What word family fits in all the blanks? “Dear friends, let us continue to _____ one another, for _____ comes from God. Anyone who _____ is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not _____ does not know God, for God is _____.”

• a. see/see/sees/see/seeing
• b. love/love/loves/love/love
• c. know/know/knows/know/knowing

People use the word love in a lot of ways—not just to express their care for another person. You might hear, “I love chocolate.” “I just love that new movie star.” “Don’t you just love that new store?” Do you truly love a food, movie star, or store? Not really. You might enjoy eating certain foods more than others, enjoy watching a certain person in movies, or like the clothing choices at a particular store. But you probably don’t love them in the way that John tells us to love each other.

The book of 1 John says love is the mark of a genuine Christian. John is talking about agape love, or God’s love. This kind of love seeks the best for others, even those who are hard to love, because that’s the way God loves. Love is more than a feeling. It’s a choice. Sometimes showing love means doing something difficult. After all, God is the source of love, and his love led him to sacrifice his own Son for us.

It’s not enough to love only those who love us or those who deserve our love. Which of us really deserves God’s love? But through God’s strength, we can love those who are unfriendly or who don’t love us in return. It’s that kind of love that will draw others to Jesus.

For You

It’s normal to find it hard to love those who are unkind to you or ignore you, but that’s what Jesus asks you to do. Those people don’t have to become your best friends, but you can love them because God created them and Jesus died for them just as he did for you. Ask him for extra help in loving the unkind people around you.

Answer: b

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.   1 John 4:7-8

(The Whole Story: 1 John 4:7-21)