Introduction
1 John 3:11–24: Today’s reading calls us to open our eyes and hearts to those in need and reminds us that true love goes beyond words and talk and shows itself in action.
Today’s Key Verse: 1 John 3:24a
Those who obey God’s commands live in union with God and God lives in union with them.
Reading
11 The message you heard from the very beginning is this: we must love one another. 12 We must not be like Cain; he belonged to the Evil One and murdered his own brother Abel. Why did Cain murder him? Because the things he himself did were wrong, and the things his brother did were right.
13 So do not be surprised, my friends, if the people of the world hate you. 14 We know that we have left death and come over into life; we know it because we love others. Those who do not love are still under the power of death. 15 Those who hate others are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life in them. 16 This is how we know what love is: Christ gave his life for us. We too, then, ought to give our lives for others! 17 If we are rich and see others in need, yet close our hearts against them, how can we claim that we love God? 18 My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action.
19 This, then, is how we will know that we belong to the truth; this is how we will be confident in God’s presence. 20 If our conscience condemns us, we know that God is greater than our conscience and that he knows everything. 21 And so, my dear friends, if our conscience does not condemn us, we have courage in God’s presence. 22 We receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. 23 What he commands is that we believe in his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as Christ commanded us. 24 Those who obey God’s commands live in union with God and God lives in union with them. And because of the Spirit that God has given us we know that God lives in union with us.
Reflect
Reread verse 18. How would you describe the ways true love shows itself in action? Look at verse 20. Is your conscience clear or troubled? Look back at what you know—and what God knows—from 1 John 2:1–2. What does God command in verse 23? What happens when we obey this command?
Pray
Lord God, open my eyes to see those in need and open my heart to respond in love. Teach me to obey your commands so that I may live in union with you and in a way that demonstrates true love in action. Amen.
Tomorrow’s Reading
1 John 4:1–6: The Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
