You say that you love God…

You hate your brother and yet you say that you love God!!!



How can this be??? 


1 John 4:20-21 (NKJV)

²⁰ 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?

²¹ And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

This has been on my mind ever since I got up!!!  You see, I was still a bit upset at having witnessed someone talking so negatively about another human being and in this case a very dear friend of mine!!!




And as I thought of this last night and even again today, the Lord reminded me, once again, that I was going to have to forgive that person and pray for them!!! 



Matthew 5:43-48 (NCV)

⁴³ "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemies.'

⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you.

⁴⁵ If you do this, you will be true children of your Father in heaven. He causes the sun to rise on good people and on evil people, and he sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong.

⁴⁶ If you love only the people who love you, you will get no reward. Even the tax collectors do that.

⁴⁷ And if you are nice only to your friends, you are no better than other people. Even those who don't know God are nice to their friends.

⁴⁸ So you must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

They say that ignorance is bliss!!!  But I truly think that for someone to despise another person so much, it cannot just be ignorance, but bitterness and anger!!!  For a person to be so bitter and angry would have to make them miserable!!!  Without love you cannot have peace!!!   



Hebrews 12:14-15 (CEB)

¹⁴ Pursue the goal of peace along with everyone—and holiness as well, because no one will see the Lord without it.

¹⁵ Make sure that no one misses out on God’s grace. Make sure that no root of bitterness grows up that might cause trouble and pollute many people.




God says to get rid of bitterness, and forgive others!!!



Ephesians 4:31-32 (NKJV)

³¹ Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.

³² And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.




God says that if you do not love, then you do NOT know HIM!!!

1 John 4:7-19 (NKJV)

⁷ Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

⁸ He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

⁹ In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.

¹⁰ In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

¹² No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.

¹³ By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.

¹⁵ Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

¹⁶ And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

¹⁷ Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

¹⁸ There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

¹⁹ We love Him because He first loved us.