If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. (ESV)

Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. (NIV)

If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? (NLT)

Dive Deeper:

“If a professed Christian, therefore, does not love one who bears the divine image, whom he sees and knows, how can he love that God whose image he bears, whom he has not seen?”
- Albert Barnes

This week’s verse is a major heart check. It challenges us to examine the genuineness of our love for God by reflecting on how we treat others. As Christians, it's easy to say we love God. Lip service comes naturally. But John reminds us that our love for God is inseparable from our love for those around us. He says that if we claim to love God while holding onto bitterness, hatred, or unforgiveness toward others, we're living a lie.

We show our love for God by putting it into action. It isn’t always easy to love others, especially when they wrong us. Holding onto bitterness that grows into hatred is the path of least resistance. It takes almost no effort. What’s difficult but commanded of us is to follow the example of Christ: but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). While we were still sinners! We have done nothing to earn God’s love. In fact, we have done everything to deserve God’s wrath. Yet, God showed us the greatest example of love by sending His son to die in our place so that He could bring us to Himself. Likewise we must do the same for those around us, not keeping a record of wrongs but giving grace unconditionally as it has been given to us. 

In this verse, John brings our hearts into question: how can we claim to love an unseen God if we can’t even love the people He created who are right in front of us? The people who are made in His image. If our hearts are hardened toward our brothers and sisters, it creates a strain and a divide in our relationship with God. God’s heart is for reconciliation. He brings peace and desires unity. To sit in resentment is to reject God’s design for the body of believers. Our love for Him is shown in how we pursue these qualities in our relationships.

So then, how can we tell if we're living this lie? Again, by examining our hearts. Are there people in your life you struggle to forgive? Do you find it easier to love God than to show love toward certain individuals? If so, ask that God would use the Holy Spirit to invade your heart, soften it, and root out your pride. Loving others doesn't mean we accept everything they do or allow harmful behavior. But it does call us to give grace, be patient, and forgive as we have been forgiven much. 

Written by Keaton Hewitt