‘God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.’ 1 John 4:16. The Lord loves His creation and tenderly cares for it. Even the most evil people are not deprived of God’s love: their hearts continue to beat, and showers of blessing do not cease to water their lives. But does a sinful person see such care and love toward him? Does he fall upon his knees, moved and joyful because God loves him? Unfortunately, we see persistent indifference toward the Giver of life and an insatiable desire to receive His generosity and blessings.
Answer the following question honestly for yourself: ‘Why are you waiting for Christ? Is it because you are tired of the evil in this world, or because you love Jesus?’ Try to remember this question and ask it of yourself every day.
There is something beautiful in love that goes beyond conventional thinking. You love because it is right and because life is more interesting that way. In the light of love, every person appears quite unusual, and many good qualities of the soul are revealed to you—qualities skillfully concealed beneath an outward show of importance. God always loves every person unconditionally. But who among humanity rejoices in such treatment and thinks about his Heavenly Father? Who is inspired by God’s constant agape? And how do people respond to the words, ‘God loves you’?
Yet changes begin taking place in the thinking of people who are indifferent toward God when they see human love directed toward them, hear kind words spoken to them, feel gentle touches, and receive useful gifts. All this stirs their minds, and they try to understand what is happening. God’s love, expressed through a human being, becomes visible and tangible, and many are willing to receive it, obtaining the fullest possible blessing from such treatment. Usually, however, they do not thank God but give glory to His messengers. Yet the Lord is ready to continue bestowing gifts upon His creation through the hands of those who desire to become channels of His love.
All of us who live and breathe upon this Earth are God’s creatures and belong to God by right of creation. But among us are His children, who have been born of the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ. They are a special people called the children of God and possess an extraordinary status in the eyes of Heaven. These distinctions should not be erased. God’s love for all people is unconditional, but His sons and daughters receive special blessings from above because they are God’s children. Yet they do not always understand the care and love of their Heavenly Father toward them. This is why we were given the commandment to love one another.
Heaven expects each of us to understand Christ’s commandment concerning our mutual love. There can be nothing blameworthy in such relationships, because we are speaking about the Lord’s clear command. Yet for some reason, to many of God’s children this commandment is always new, or they simply do not know it even though they remember that it exists.
To love one another is a mutual, conscious agreement to have an unconditional, kind, reciprocal relationship with each other. A one-sided relationship is also love, but it is not loving one another. It is more like a one-way street where you cannot drive back and no one is coming toward you.
If the miracle of transformation takes place in my life and I receive the gift of love from above, that does not yet mean that I have fulfilled Christ’s commandment to love one another. For this, I need a friend who loves in the same way, or at least someone who does not yet love me but, like me, desires to obey God. The greatest joy and a beautiful event occur when these two loving, solitary hearts meet and begin to love one another.
I cannot fulfill Christ’s commandment casually or in passing. Simply telling someone that you love that person and hearing the same in response is not loving one another; it is an exchange of kind words.
To love one another is a conscious decision by two people who understand that they now belong to one another within this love, and that their lives have become intertwined in one united agape with shared points of connection. This is not a marriage union, but the desire of two hearts belonging to God to unite in mutual love, together with their mutual consent to the deep and unending development of the relationship that follows. From childhood, all of us dream about such love and wait for it throughout our lives, thinking that it is worth giving everything to obtain it. But what am I doing in order to receive it? The Faithful Witness counsels me to buy from Him this wonderful gold of Heavenly origin.
Love for one another calls me to open my heart to my friend and calls my friend to open his soul to me. This does not mean that I will immediately see everything and discover all the treasures of my neighbor’s soul. It means that from now on we will be able continually to discover the beneficial qualities of our hearts within one another and share these findings with each other and with the people around us. This is an Eternal process of Eternal discoveries of one another. This is why Eternity is given to us: so that we may learn at least a little about how beautiful and amazing we are within, containing countless treasures of good qualities in the depths of our hearts.
In our love for one another, we comprehend the power and depth of this agape. But this does not mean that such knowledge encloses us within a closed union of two loving hearts. As we learn to love one another, we gain Heavenly knowledge of this love and become able to share it with others, passing on to those around us the experience of our relationship that was born through the practical exercise of our love for one another.
God desires to see this kind of love within our families as well. But at times families are formed to unite bodies without any desire to know the heart of one’s companion. Even this can be corrected if both people make a mutual decision to love one another within the family and each does everything necessary on his or her part.
Love for one another opens many possibilities for serving God in a spirit of love. We unite in prayer and ask for many things. When we are joined in this union, Jesus’ promise begins to operate in relation to us: if two shall agree in asking concerning any matter, the Father will answer them. Matthew 18:19. A friend’s love becomes an additional source of inspiration and support for me. Even when a friend is physically far away, that friend’s kind words can perform real miracles in my life. We become God’s blessing to one another, enriching one another and adding no sorrow with it.
Love for one another is the great mystery of fellowship between two loving hearts, which can be understood only from within the relationship. The depth of such agape is covered by God’s hand, and no outsider can uncover the inner world that unites friends within their mutual love.
We do not need to wait for the Second Coming before beginning to keep God’s commandment. Eternity has already begun through our faith in Jesus, and our love for one another reveals to us all the beauty of those Heavenly relationships of the distant future that we can experience today, here and now.
Whatever wonders I may discover within my dear friend, I see all of them in my precious Jesus as well. It is He Who has been given to me within the heart of my neighbor and given to my neighbor through me. Within our agape for one another, we give everything to the Lord, from Whom we received it all, returning it to Him in a spirit of love and gratitude.
Bible Verses for Reflection
Proverbs 17:17; 1 Corinthians 16:14; John 13:34–35; 1 Thessalonians 3:12; 5:21–22; 2 Thessalonians 3:5; Jeremiah 31:3; 33:3; 1 Peter 1:22; 1 Timothy 1:5; Colossians 3:14; Philippians 1:8–11; Ephesians 3:18–19; 4:15; Galatians 5:6; 1 Corinthians 13:12–13; Song of Solomon 5:10.