Belief and Love AND Action

This morning I am reading from 1 John 3:23-24 NIV:

[23] "And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. [24] The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us."

I love these simple and clear verses. John describes the primary call of all Christians in one sentence and describes it simply as believing and loving. It is important to note that believing is not just intellectual acknowledgement, but rather an active lifestyle of belief. In the same way, loving is not some simple emotional state or affection, but rather is an active lifestyle. So the questions presented are:

1. What does a life of belief in the name of Jesus look like?
2. What does a lifestyle of loving each other look like?

In my opinion the two questions are actually tightly intertwined. They are both relational, expressed through relationships. Our belief in the name of Jesus means, to me, that I understand and believe who Jesus said He was, namely the Son of God and perfect representation of the Father, and live my life as if that was the case. If He truly is the Son of God and speaking for the Father, then His words are the most important words in history. He showed us the heart of the Father and if I belief this, then I must conform my life to His for He brought the Father Glory, and I want to as well. If I believe He broke the chains of sin, sickness, disease and death, then I should not fear these things for they have no real power. If I believe in Him and believe that He is alive and lives within me, then I should listen to Him, trust in His guidance and operate in His power. If I truly believe in His name, then my life should be different than those who don't believe.

A lifestyle of loving one another as He commanded us means laying down my life for our friends - see John 15:12-13. John describes it well in the preceding verses to those I quoted above, as follows: [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? [18] Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:16-18. Our live for others must involve action. James said it this way, "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." James 2:17.

So, let us believe and love and show both through our actions and our lifestyles.