Love...a Barometer of Faith

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1 John 4:7-11

Probably you know someone who at one time said they had trusted Jesus as their Savior. As time passed however, you became increasingly concerned that perhaps they did not truly know Him. What was lacking?

Paul was present in Ephesus when the Christians there first believed and when the church began in that city. Some time later he writes to them from a Roman prison: “For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers...” Ephesians 1:15-16

Faith and love are the hallmarks of one who genuinely believes in Jesus Christ. It is by faith that our hearts are cleansed (Acts 15:9), accounting for our new set of desires and values Christians take on at their rebirth. Faith results in good works and makes overcomers of those who believe in Christ.

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.” 1 John 5:4

Then there is the relationship between faith and love. You cannot have one without the other. Galatians 5:6 says faith works through love. 1 John 3:14 says, “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.”

Your love for other believers is a barometer of your faith in Christ. Count on God to manifest that love in you.