"Dear friends, if God loved us that much we also should love each other. No one has ever seen God, but if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is made perfect in us." (NCV)
What is God saying?
God's followers are to reflect His character of love to those around us. And by displaying His love we come as close as we are able to seeing God on earth, which makes us want to love others even more.
What is God saying to us today?
Calling Christians to love others because God loves us (and them) is one of the central themes of Scripture. And if we lived out this fundamental principle of other-centered love, not only would Christianity be better off, but the entire world would be better off. Yet so many of us Christians like to look for loopholes when it comes to loving others. We often say we love others, but in reality we only love others on our terms - we'll love you if you look like us, act like us, smell like us, believe like us - and in so doing we substitute other-centered love for self-centered love. Putting conditions on our love is not what God's followers are called to do, because He doesn't love conditionally. And when we love with conditions, we do not reflect Him, and are unable engage in the cycle of becoming more and more perfect in love.
What is God inviting us to do?
How do you love others? God invites us to experience His deep, unconditional, life-changing love, so that we can then love others the same way that He loves us.