The book of 1 John is an unusual book. It was written by John the Apostle, also known as the apostle that Jesus loved. In 1 John, we find the word love in some form forty-six times. When we find the word love in these verses, it is the Greek word agapeor agapao,depending on the tense. Agapeis a unique word. It wasn’t used much in Greek literature outside the Bible. It is a unique word because it describes a certain kind of love that is unfathomable by finite people created by an infinite God.

God has revealed Himself in this book, and He starts by telling us that we need to love sacrificially, without expectation. Let us love one another; this is where we start. Let us love one another. Scripture is the place to look to if you want to learn about God’s love and how we can love. Christians, let us love.

If we can learn how to love each other in the body of Christ when we are so different, then we can learn to love others. We can learn how to love our spouse and children. We can learn how to love our neighbors and coworkers – even that boss you don’t like.

How about this? The Bible also tells us that we need to show agapelove even to our enemies. This is hard. Before we can love each other and even our enemies, we must understand God and His love. Let us love one another for love is of God.

When we’re trying to love one another in a way that only God can, it would seem that we are setting ourselves up for failure. We are being commanded to unconditionally love the unlovely, but we can’t do it. Only God can do it, because it is Who He is. Therefore, we can only do it when He is doing it through us. We can only do this when we are walking in the Spirit. When we allow Him to work in us and through us, then we can accomplish something supernatural because it is God doing it.