Love is the “mark” of the believer. Watch carefully – without hearts filled with love we have no power to receive from God or give to others.
One of the most familiar scenarios that I deal with in counseling with Christians is – hearts that are hurt or hardened with unforgiveness. I hear, “I can’t forgive” or “I won’t forgive” or “I’ve been hurt too badly, too often . . .”
St. John writes in 1 John 4:20-21 “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him, that he who loves God must love his brother also.”
Jesus said, “. . . as I have loved you, you also love one another.” (John 13:34b) Jesus died on the cross to give us forgiveness of our sins. Since we have received forgiveness, we must be people willing to offer it as well.
One of the most loving things we can do to restore fellowship with our brother and to maintain fellowship in the body of Christ is to “forgive one another even as Christ has forgiven you!”
Once we have cleared that block from our hearts God’s love can begin to flow into our lives –and without that blemish is free to flow out to others as well.
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