A Thought From the Word

“And now I beseech thee, lady...that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.” 2 John 5,6

Our culture and society has missed on what God intends when He speaks of true love. We have made love for others to mean, “Every opinion or philosphy is equally valid, as long as every one is sincere” or, “we must celebrate (not just tolerate) any viewpoint of God or morality...except those viewpoints that are considered out-of-step politically and in the mainstream media.”

The heartbreaking reality is, God's authoritative perspective tells us this form of “love” is actually destructive. As a doctor who acts like his patient is not sick because he doesn't want to tell them disappointing news, so our culture has promoted a twisted view of love that does not tell the truth.

Love is important. John was the Apostle who Scripture says Jesus loved. John wrote with warmth in his epistles, calling the believers to whom he wrote, “my little children.” He is the one who wrote the words, “God is love” (I Jn. 4:8). Yet, as you study John's Gospel and three Epistles, you'll find this Holy Spirit-inspired apostle fleshes out what Christian love is. It includes believing the truth about Christ; it is serving one another; and it is walking in God's commandments. Love actually leads John to talk tough on occasion. He warns of false teachers. He warns those who claim to be in the light, but who walk in darkness.