My Daily Devotion: 1 John 3:11-24

Scripture:
1 John 3:11-24

11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters,[a] if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

Reflection:
- All goodness comes when there is love in one's heart. Everything evil happens when there is hate instead of love. V. 12 reminds us that Cain was full of hatred, which led him to murder even his own brother.
- The love of Christ for humanity is God's ultimate example of love--unconditional and sacrificial. No one in this world can ever equal the sacrifice of Christ on the cross for the salvation of all.

Application:
- As a follower of Christ, I ought to show to others what a true Christian is through my actions. "Laying down" my life, especially for my brethren in Christ, is a hard thing to do, but must be done as one way of reflecting the love that Christ wants his disciples to do.
- How can I show to others what real love is, if I do not try to help those that are in need?