“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.”
1 John 5:1-2

Do Christians fight? Are we supposed to? Everyone who has been a member of a Christian community either has involved or heard someone had conflicts in the church. Some may argue that even though we are children of God, we are still sinners, while many people are only using this argument as excuses.

Today’s passage gives us two pieces of evidence that display a person’s love to God—by loving His children and obeying His commandments. (v.2) Some may further argue that if not because the other Christian is so unlovable, they are willing to love the other person. But this is not what the scripture taught. Verse 1 says that if we claim that we love God, we will love everyone who believes that Jesus is Christ—the Son of God. The reason is simple, if we truly love the Father, we will love the children of the Father. And everyone who believes in Christ is born of God. There is really no reason for us not to love one another if we think we love God.

Share with your partner about a person you have not been able to love. You don’t need to mention that person’s name. Just tell your partner why you feel this person is unlovable. Then pray for each other that you can forgive what this person did, pray for His comforts and healing. Pray that the Holy Spirit will empower you so you can eventually love this person.