The Little Letters - Day 10

1 John 3:11 This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. 13 So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.
14 If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. 15 Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.

The good news is that there is one message that we have to master, and that is to love one another! We can do that! John mentions that this is the one thing that has been emphasized from the beginning of his message to the churches and even throughout his gospel account. Love is what this is all about.
 
There is a church in Chattanooga that has its members put signs in their yards saying, “Love is Why!” I like this sentiment and would do it for our churches, but it has already been done! But to understand that the reason we are doing all of this is because of the love that it conveys to the world is really important.

John then goes on to speak about Cain as a negative example of what it means to not show love. Cain shows that he does not belong to God by his hatred toward his brother, and by his actions toward his brother as well. And while this is a story about brothers, it is really telling us about Jesus and how Jesus was able to show love to everyone around him in order to be an example of what love really is.
 
The hard part about this text is that it says if we do not love a brother or sister, we are really murderers at heart! I know I don’t feel like a murderer, but this emphasis does give me pause. Am I conveying love with my actions or hatred? Am I showing the world that love is my “why”? Or am I showing them that the good news of Jesus Christ didn’t really change me at all?

1.  So what does love look like to you? 
2. And what does hatred look like? 
3. Do you feel like a murderer? 
4. Do you think John was too bold using that word? 
5. What do you want the world to think about you?