“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 1 John 4:7-8. NKJV.


This passage emphasizes on the true nature of God. “God is love.”  Because of this, we are commanded to love one another, as believers in Jesus Christ, because love originated from God,  and this love is the source of all true love which we experience and share.  Anyone who does not love, does not truly know God.



God’s love towards us is unconditional and he has given us the grace we need for all things. As human beings, God has endowed us the grace to love others as we love ourselves. 
He said,  “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if  you have love for one another.” (John 13:35).

Let us embrace God’s command to love one another because in heaven only love exist. There is no room for bickering, unforgiveness or hatred in heaven.
Anyone who cannot love or forgive cannot enter heaven.


I personally believe that the criteria for entering into eternal life with Jesus in heaven is how we loved one another here on earth.
This is clearly stated in the gospel of Matthew 25:31-46, during the final judgment.

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;  I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;  I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’  Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’  And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Love is not merely saying, “I  love you.” Love is an action word. It should be followed by action. Love action could be through gifts or service to our fellow human beings as we read in Matthew 25, and it must be genuine and sincere.
Remember,  we cannot deceive God because he knows and sees the heart and the intentions.


Paul clearly stated in 1 Corinthians 13:3,
“And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.“
So, the love action must be sincere, flowing from true love not out of hypocrisy. It will be so sad, fruitless, and unprofitable to make sacrifices with wrong intentions and dishonesty.  God does not honor such.


Romans 5:5 stated that God’s love is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit! So, we don’t have to manufacture love, it’s a supernatural gift from God ready to overflow.

Therefore, it is important to realize that we are not expected to generate unlimited, unconditional love on our own, rather God, through the power of his Holy Spirit living within us, is the constant, overflowing well of love.
When you find it difficult to love someone, remember to tap into that supernatural supply.
This divine love creates the impossible kind of love, the sacrificial, forgiving, persistent, and unconditional kind of love and makes it possible.

You can start by challenging yourself.  Sometimes you may think or tell yourself that you have nothing against someone who offended you.  You may say, oh! that’s in the past.
Sometimes the old hurt is hidden in the subconscious level, only to resurface with the slightest trigger from the individual. At the slightest provocation,  you flare up with anger, recalling things from so many years ago.


That is why we need the help and guidance of the Holy spirit.
The challenge is,  if you remember someone you find difficult to love or forgive, ask the Holy Spirit to flood your heart with God’s love for that person, and then take one small, loving action towards them. You can pray sincerely for God’s blessings upon them, or provide an act of service, as God leads you. Let us love one another as we are commanded in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, because, God is Love.