Loving Jesus by Loving Others

Before you start todays devotional, ask the Lord to use it to grow you up in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

God is light—as we walk in His light, we can have fellowship with Him. We are His feeble, frail, faltering, falling little children, yet we can walk with Him because the blood of Jesus Christ keeps on cleansing us from sin. Jesus, our Advocate, stands for us before the Father. He’s on our side.

God is also love—and in His love, we can fellowship with each other. Love proves we know God. We bear one another’s burdens, forgive, and keep loving each other earnestly. (See Galatians 6:2; Colossians 3:13; 1 Peter 4:8.) God calls us to this different kind of life and gives us a new nature to do it.

If we want to have fellowship with the Father and enjoy it with confidence, we must keep His commandments—and His Word. Obeying His Word means we are willing to go even farther than anything He commanded. His commands are not grievous but for our good. Some people grit their teeth and say, “Yes, I’ll obey Him.” But their motive is compliance, not love. When you obey because you love Him (John 14:15), a great many of the family problems will be solved, and the uncertainty in your own heart about your salvation will disappear. The person who doesn’t know Jesus as Savior never wants to do God’s will, even if they say they are a Christian (see John 14:15, 23). A genuine child of God wants to bring joy to God’s heart and joy to their own life. If you love Jesus, you are going to keep His Word—you can’t help it. You want to please the person you love.

The question is not, “Are you committed to Christ?” The question is, “Do you love Christ?”

The one who keeps God’s Word grows up in His love. So, how are you growing? This inventory might help. Ask yourself:

• What is my attitude toward sin? Does it trouble me?
• Is there anything hindering my fellowship with my heavenly Father?
• Do I want the sin more than I want a close relationship with God?

If anything comes to mind, confess it to Him right now and turn your back on it. On that basis, God will restore fellowship with you, and the assurance of salvation will come to your heart.

How do you get to know somebody? By living with them day by day. The only way you can know the Lord Jesus Christ is by meeting with Him every day in His Word, where He is revealed. It’s also where you overcome the wicked one (see Ephesians 6). In God’s Word, we learn how to live in a wicked world system organized against God. (See also Ephesians 1:4, 2:2; Galatians 6:14; 2 Peter 2:20.) John says we are not to love it or be part of it. Our old nature is geared for this world, but we have a new nature, too, bought by the blood of Jesus.

Between you and this satanic world system, there stands a cross. Both are bidding for you to come to them. As a child of God, follow Jesus and glory in His Cross. Stand strong, child of God.

1. If loving someone means bearing their burdens, what burdens can you bear for someone you love?

2. To love God is to obey Him. In that case, how can you love God better?

3. The child of God’s relationship with sin begins with thinking correctly. Where does the Holy Spirit need to change your thinking about sin?

Additional Resources

Listen to Dr. J. Vernon McGee's, complete audio teachings of 1 John 2:3-8 and 1 John 2:8-16.