The Christian’s Love

Introduction

What is love? See if this 8 year old girl didn’t know. She’d gone to the store with her father and younger brother. To her delight there was a petting zoo outside. Baby animals were her favorite. Her father gave each child a quarter, and went inside to do his shopping. Shortly, however he found that his daughter was trailing behind him. When he asked what was wrong, she simply said, “It was 50 cents, so I gave my quarter to Brandon.” 2 John 1:5-6 is talking about self-sacrificing love like that. Study the passage to be challenged to live love every day …

Observation

Pray

Before diving into this passage to understand what it says and how it applies to your life today, stop and ask God to open your eyes to understand it and make it come alive for you.

Read Focus Verses

We might be studying a short passage in a short book of the Bible, but that doesn’t make it any less important. 2 John 1:5-6 provides a key truth for living a growing Christian life. Go ahead and read them.

Find the Theme

Did a word or idea stand out as a theme for these verses? Perhaps it was repeated several times or everything in the passage related to it.

Keyword – Love

This symbol will help us see how God uses the word love in these verses.

Walk in Love

Go through 2 John 1:5-6 again, this time marking the word love each time it appears.

Read in Context

We’ll be able to understand these verses better if we consider them in light of their context. Let’s read 2 John 1:1-13 and see how it all ties together.

Defining the Commandment

What is the commandment which God has given His people?

Defining Love

How does verse 6 define love?

New or Old

When was the commandment first given?

Interpretation

The Love Association

All through the Bible, loving God and keeping His commandments are connected. You can’t have one without the other. Notice how succinctly Jesus states the connection in John 14:15.

What is the Relation?

How does keeping God’s commandments indicate that you love Him? What is the relationship between these two things that makes each so integral to the other?

A Step Beyond

This passage goes a step beyond that connection and argues that to love your neighbor you must keep God’s commandment. Explain why that is true.

It’s All Related

If we go one step further, we’ll see that all of these things are related. Notice what Jesus says in Matthew 22:37-40

In Your Own Words

In your own words, how are the three parts of love – loving God, loving your neighbor, and keeping God’s commands – related?

From the Beginning

One of the earliest times God tells us directly to love one another is Leviticus 19:18.

Why?

What is the reason God gives in Leviticus 19:18 that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves?

Truth Applied

What practical way does God tell us to apply our love for one another in Leviticus 19:18?

Walk in It

Twice this passage urges us to walk in love and walk in God’s commandments. Notice the significance of that word walk.

Walking with God

This helpful article expands on the Bible’s teaching on walking with God.

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Identified

Jesus gave us another reason why choosing to love one another is so important. Notice what He says in John 13:35.

Application

Walking with God

God never changes, so if you aren’t walking with Him, it means you have to change something, not Him. Are there areas of your life you know you need to change – loving the people around you and obeying God’s Word – so that you can be in close fellowship with God?

Love One Another

Love is hard work, and it always costs something. Are you fighting the fight, or have you given up and need to get at it again? How are you going to choose to love that person God has put in your life today?

Wrapup

Closing

We hope this study has helped you understand better what God means when He tells you to love others.

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