Among all of God’s messages this is the message that we have heard from the beginning: “we should love one another”. We should not be angered (hate) at the brethren because they are different or because we are jealous.

We know we have passed out of death and into life because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.  We know love because we know our Lord Jesus; we know he lay down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

If we have the world’s goods and see our brother in need, we should gladly, thankfully, help meet that need, recognizing how God has met our needs. We do this well by recognizing God’s love for us and training ourselves to abide in that love. As God’s love abides in us, we will love the brothers in deed and in truth.