This is what God commands: that we believe in his Son, Jesus Christ, and that we love each other, just as he commanded.

1 John 3:23 (ICB)

The Christian faith is not complicated. It involves two practical aspects, first, we believe in Jesus, and second, we love one another. The nearer we are to Jesus, the greater our ability to love as He loves.

God didn’t love us because we are good, yet as we continue to rest in His perfect love we become good. Our encounter with divine unconditional love inspires and enables us to love freely without fear or hesitation. God gives us people to love in order to help us grow and develop deeper, enduring love.

Loving each other is the best evidence of our faith in Christ.

We do not love with just words and ideas, but with loving actions and deeds. We must always put God’s love first in whatever we do. Without love, we will inadvertently bring out the worst in one another and not be able to overcome it. One of the great tragedies of church life is that we preach love, but we don't practice love. Worse still, we allow our anger and unforgiveness to hurt those we are called to love and to heal.

Most times, our inability to love is the result and effects of betrayal, disappointment and unresolved vulnerabilities. The only way to heal is to embrace the cross and live out our new identity in Christ. If you believe in Jesus and follow Him, you will come to understand that you are not defined by what people do to you but by who God is for you. It is about surrendering to the truth of who you are and what you have in Christ. Again, and again. When you embed this truth in your relationship with God, you can trust God to stand firm in His grace to love and forgive and show mercy without contradicting justice.