Love That Takes My Hatred Away

(1 John 4:19-21) We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he 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: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

The book of First John is written to people who profess to be Christians. It is written "that you may know that you have eternal life." (1 John 5:13b) So we have to keep that in mind as we look at any text throughout this book.

We have a command here, "whoever loves God must also love his brother." Love for other people is a proof that I love God. I have heard John MacArthur say that "brother" would mean any person at all. Nowhere in the Bible are we commanded to love false teachers, but other than them, we are commanded to love everyone else. Love here does not mean that I have some gushy emotional feeling toward every person, only that this type of love meets peoples needs.

Why am I to have this type of love for my fellow man? First, because it is commanded. Second, because it is evidence that I am loved by God. "We love because he first loved us." This really is startling to think about. The reason I love human beings made in God's image is because God loved me first. One of the proofs for me to know that I am loved by God is that I will love other people.

You say, "God loves all people." But the Scriptures says "Jacob I loved, Esau I hated." (Romans 9:13) There is some sense in which God's grace shines on the just and the unjust. Every breath that we take is a mercy from God. But this type of love that God shows toward His creation in general is different from His redemptive love, His love which saves and rescues the sinner from their sin, and gives them eternal life.

When a person experiences this type of redemptive love, the result will be a release from hatred in the heart toward your fellow man. When a person comes to know the love of God in salvation, his heart will reflect this love back to others; hence, "we love because he first loved us."

Do you want to be free from the hatred you feel in your heart toward other people? Run to Jesus!