Sunday, March 20: Scripture – 1 John 3:13-16
13 Do not be astonished, brothers and sisters, that the world hates you.
14 We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death.
15 All who hate a brother or sister are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them.
16 We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.
Prayer Focus: Following on the passage from yesterday, it appears that the authors are comparing the church to Abel who was murdered by Cain because Abel’s deeds were righteous. Do not be astonished that the world hates you because you live by different rules and standards than the world. We have passed from death to life. The way to describe this move is “love.” Whoever does not love abides in death. Love opens the way to life because as we will soon hear, God is love. Instead of hate, we know love by this, that Christ laid down his life for us. Instead of hating our brothers and sisters, let us lay down our lives for one another. Because God first loved us, we lay down our lives for each other. Pray that this may be so for you today.
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