<h3>THE LOVE THAT MAKES MEN BROTHERS</h3>
<p>We know what love is by this, that Christ laid down his life for
us; so we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if any
one has this world's wealth and looks on while his brother is in need
and shows no sympathy for him, how can the love of God remain
in him? My dear children, let us show our love not with words nor
with our lips only, but by deeds and sincerity.</p>
<p>Beloved, let us love one another, for love comes from God and
every one who loves is a child of God and knows God. He who loves
not man does not know God, for God is love. God showed his love
for us, for he sent his only Son into the world that through <span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[324]</SPAN></span>him we
might have life. His love is shown in this, not that we loved God,
but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the sacrifice that made
possible the forgiveness of our sins.</p>
<p>Beloved, if God so loved us, then we ought also to love one another.
No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, then
God lives in us, and the love which is his is made perfect in us. By
this we know that we shall live in him and he in us, because he has
given us a portion of his own Spirit, and we have seen and bear witness
that the Father has sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.</p>
<p>We ourselves know and believe in the love that God has for us.
God is love, and he whose life is full of love lives in God and God
lives in him. In love there is no fear, but perfect love drives out
all fear, for fear means punishment, and he who fears has not become
perfect in love. We love him because he first loved us.</p>
<p>If any one says, "I love God," and yet 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. And we have this command
from him, that he who loves God is to love his brother also.</p>
<p>Every one who believes that Jesus is the Christ, is a child of God;
and every one who loves the Father, loves every child of his. We
know that we are his children when we love him and obey his commands,
for love for God means obeying his commands. And his
commands are not hard to follow, for whatever is born of God conquers
the world. And our faith is the power that conquers the world.
Who is the conqueror of the world but he who believes that Jesus
is the Son of God?</p>
<p>Now the confidence that we have in God is this, that he listens
to us whenever we ask anything in accordance with his will. And
if we know that he listens to whatever we ask, we know that we have
the things which we have asked from him.</p>
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