1 John 4:21
“This commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should also love his brother.”
What does 1 John 4:21 mean?
John is reminding us of something Jesus taught repeatedly: you can't genuinely love God while neglecting or harming the people around you. It's not that loving others is optional or secondary, but rather that it flows naturally from a real relationship with God. When we truly encounter God's love, it changes how we see and treat everyone else. This doesn't mean feelings always come easily or that loving difficult people is simple, but it means we're called to choose their good anyway, even when it costs us something.