Day 28                      The Necessity of Brotherly Love                                         

1 John 4:7  Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

             It is fitting to end our family devotions on this note.  Love is the most essential quality for any home.  Love bears all things,  believes all things,  hopes all things,  endures all things.  Love never fails.  There are families that do not experience this type of love,  but at least in the church,  we should experience a love that is unexplainable   (to know the love that passeth knowledge).  It is greater than anything in this world.  “Now abides faith, hope and love,   these three,  but the greatest of these is love.”  

         John exhorts the children to love one another.  Love is the central characteristic of God.  God not only shows love,  He is love.  If we belong to Him,  if we have been born into His family,  then this characteristic should sum up our lives.  Those who love God are born of God, and they are the ones who know God.  If a man does not love,  he does not know God. 

         Our church family knows who belongs to Christ by the way that we show love.  The world also judges us and sees the reality of our faith by the way that we love each other.

John 13:35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

          If we are going to make an impact on this world,  then we must love one another in order to show the world the love of Christ.

          Today is Easter Sunday.  It is the last day of our 28 day devotions.  When Christ came to this earth,  he showed His love to His disciples. 

John 13:1  Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.

He loved His own people.  When He entered Jerusalem at the end of His ministry he said,

Matthew 23:37  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

When He died on the cross,  Jesus showed that He loved the world. 

John 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

He also showed this world that He loved them; not because they were good or because they were lovely or loveable.  He loved them while they were sinners. 

Romans 5:8  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

We trust that you know the love of Christ, that you have received Christ as Savior.  If you have not put your trust in Christ,  why not do that this Resurrection Sunday?