May 21, 2024 Daily Dose of Discernment

He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. (1 John 4:8)

Jesus’ definition of eternal life is knowing the only true God and His Son Whom He sent. That is, man’s life will be full only if he has an intimate, experiential knowledge of God. Relating that to what John writes in his epistle that God is love, the Spirit is saying that to know God is to live in love, the litmus test of which is love for neighbor.

In the same epistle, the beloved apostle emphasizes how we know we have that fullness of life. He says we know we have passed from death into life if we love our brother. That he who does not love abides in death and is a murderer, and doesn’t have eternal life abiding in him. He maintains that whoever has the means but turns a blind eye to a brother in need does not have the love of God abiding in him. He concludes by encouraging his readers to love not just with word or tongue, but in deed and truth. If we want eternal life, this is not the way to obtain it; this itself is it!