Love for God, Love for People

Daily Scripture Threshing for Today, Thursday, March 19, 2026

Today’s Text: 1 John 4:19–21

Key Verse: “And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.” — 1 John 4:21 (KJV)

In his first epistle, the apostle John writes to believers facing false doctrines and relational tensions within the Christian community. He repeatedly links love for God with love for others, insisting they are inseparable. “We love him, because he first loved us” (verse 19) establishes the source of all true love—God’s initiating, undeserved love in Christ.

From that foundation, John makes a searching statement: anyone who claims to love God while hating his brother is living a contradiction. The one we cannot see (God) is loved genuinely only when we love the ones we can see (our brothers and sisters in Christ).

John does not treat love for people as an optional “extra” for advanced believers; he presents it as a commandment that flows directly from love for God. The vertical and horizontal dimensions are woven together. If God has poured His love into our hearts through the new birth, that love must find expression toward others.

This love must necessarily include those who are different from us, those who have offended us, and those who may be weak or difficult. Our love for God is thus tested and proven not merely in prayer and worship, but in patience, forgiveness, generosity, and kindness toward people.

Loving God and loving people also reflects the heart of Jesus’ own summary of the law: to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:29–31). The second commandment is “like” the first, not equal in rank but similar in nature and inseparable in practice.

When God’s love governs us, we cannot remain indifferent or hostile to those He has placed in our lives. We begin to see others not just through the lens of their flaws, but through the lens of the cross—people Christ died for, people in whom His grace can work.

This kind of love is not sentimental tolerance; it is Spirit-empowered, truth-grounded, and sacrificial. It calls us to seek reconciliation where there has been offense, to serve where there has been selfishness, and to pray where there has been criticism. It moves us beyond loving those who love us back, into loving the unlovely and the undeserving, just as God loved us.

In this way, our love for God becomes visible, tangible, and credible before a watching world. Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35).

Action Steps: Today, ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind anyone you have been avoiding, resenting, or withholding love from. Honestly acknowledge any unforgiveness, bitterness, or coldness in your heart. Choose, as an act of love for God, to release offense and to pray blessing over that person. Where appropriate, take a practical step—send a message, offer help, extend kindness, or speak words of encouragement. Let your love for God be expressed in a deliberate act of love toward someone made in His image.

Quote for the Day: “Our love for God is most convincingly seen in how we treat the people He has placed around us.” — (Simon Olatunji #quotablequote)

Let Us Pray: Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me first and teaching me what true love looks like through Jesus Christ. I confess that I have not always reflected Your love to others. Forgive me for every harsh thought, bitter attitude, and unloving response. Fill my heart with Your love and help me to see people as You see them. Teach me to love my brothers and sisters in word and in deed, so that my love for You will be evident and sincere—in Jesus’s name, Amen.

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Thank you for threshing the Word with me today. For further study on this topic, please read: John 13:34–35; 1 Corinthians 13:1–7; Galatians 5:13–14.

With love and prayers,

Simon Wale Olatunji, Ph.D.

Your Darling Bishop (DaBishop)

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