Love One Another, Part 3
"One Another" Study, Lesson 1
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We’ve spent the last two weeks looking at the command to love one another. We’ve learned that we should love other believers, our neighbors, and everyone else. We’ve learned that we should love one another because God loved us enough to send his Son to die for our sins, and we should share that love with others. We’ve learned that Jesus is the perfect model of how to love well, and if we maintain a close relationship with him and have an attitude of perseverance and generosity, we will grow in our love for others.
But what is the point of doing all of this? What outcome are we working for? That’s what we want to look at this week.
What is the outcome of loving one another?
The outcomes of loving one another can be divided into three categories:
Physical benefits for this world
Spiritual, eternal benefits
Benefits for other people
Physical Benefits for this World
The greatest physical benefit that we gain from loving others is that it helps us persevere when we face trials.
2 Thessalonians 1:3-4: 3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. 4 Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.
As our faith increases, our love increases, and as our love increases, we grow in our perseverance and faith during trials. This goes along with the idea of loving everyone, including our enemies, that we talked about last week. Our enemies are often the ones who are persecuting us, and if we have love for them, if we see them through God’s eyes, we are able to persevere better.
Spiritual, Eternal Benefits
In the next verse in the passage above, we find that all these things—growing in our faith, increasing in love, and persevering during trials—are evidence that we will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God.
2 Thessalonians 1:5: All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.
Said another way, our love for each other is a sign that we have passed from death to life.
1 John 3:14: We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.
Our love for one another is also a sign that God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
1 John 4:11-12: 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
I love the thought that God’s love is made complete in us. Love is meant to be shared. If we only love ourselves, or only those close to us, then that love is not complete. God’s love is only complete in us when we show love to everyone around us.
Benefits for Other People
Finally, we find that our love for others brings benefits not only to ourselves but also to those around us.
For non-Christians, they will see our love and recognize that something is different—that we follow Christ.
John 13:34-35: 34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Maybe this love is exactly what they need to see to persuade them to follow Christ. That’s why our default should always be a response filled with love, even for those who could be considered our enemies.
Another benefit we see for other people is that it gives us an attitude of forgiveness that helps us not hold their sins against them.
1 Peter 4:8: Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
So many times we are tempted to hold a grudge or to keep track of all the petty things that someone does that we don’t like or that hurt us. But if we keep love as a priority, many of these sins can be washed away so they don’t hurt the relationship over the long term.
The final benefit we will discuss for other people is that our love for them provides help for them in their time of need.
1 John 3:16-17: 16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?
At times, help may look like sharing possessions or giving them food or drink. These things seem pretty simple. On the other extreme, sometimes this help may mean laying down our lives for them. When we truly love others with God’s love, we are willing to make that sacrifice for them.
Conclusion
Loving one another is an essential part of being a Christian. Any person who is filled with hate for others has not truly accepted God’s love for them. What actions and attitudes do you need to change in your life in order to love others better?
Next week, we’ll move on to other “one another” commands. I hope you’ll join us!