19 We love, because He first loved us. 20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also. (1 John 4:19–21)
These are the mechanics of godly love. It’s impossible to love in a godly way without God instilling that love first. It’s impossible to love God when at the same time you hate your “brother.” It’s interesting that we’re not talking about loving an ax murderer, but “a brother.” Loving your brother is the litmus test for godly love, because he’s right in front of you, and in theory, he’s the easiest to love.
You don’t want to say you love your brother when you don’t. It’s better to tell the truth than to lie about it. Still, the fact that you don’t love your brother says something about your love for God. At least if you’re honest about it, you’re on your way to reconciling your relationship with God, because he hates liars.
Someone who loves God is presented with this test daily. It’s tough to love your brother when he doesn’t love you back, or he’s unlovable, That’s why God commands us to love our brother, because it comes with the territory. This whole discussion starts with the underlying truth that “we love because He first loved us.”
If we’re honest, in reality, we don’t seem to get along with anyone except ourselves. Ergo God’s command. Ergo the manner in which we gain assurance that we are God’s, when we, to our utter amazement, really do love our brother!
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