1 John 3:1-3 (ESV)

[1] See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. [2] Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. [3] And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Three truths run through this chapter. 1. We are to love one another. 2. The world will hate us. 3. God’s love for us prompts us to love one another, and to purify ourselves. It all begins and ends with God’s love for us.

We are to love one another. In verse 10 John writes, “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” He does not tell us that so that we can figure out who we have to love. If we only needed to love people who practice righteousness, then it would be pretty simple. We would love those who are lovable and forget everyone else. But that is not the point.

He goes on to point out that Cain failed to love his brother because he was “of the evil one” (vs 12). John does not tell us to judge one another’s faith in order to decide who to love. He is telling us to live out the faith we claim to have. Do not be like Cain. There is enough animosity coming from the world. Don’t allow it to come from you to your brother as well. We will be hated by the world. We have no excuse for hating one another.

Nobody likes to be hated. We want people to like us. We don’t go out looking to be hated, but we follow the example of Jesus. He was hated by the religious leaders. He was not hated because he was a mean and abrasive person, but because he spoke truth to those who should have known better. He was hard on them. He called them whitewashed tombs full of dead men’s bones (see Mt 23:27). He unashamedly spoke the truth to those who should have known better. He was harsh with religious bigots who should have known the truth, and who claimed to be righteous. He was gentle with sinners who knew they were sinners. Nobody likes to be hated, but if we are to follow Jesus then it is likely that not everyone will like us. Some will even hate us.

How do we live with that? How do we live in a world that hates us, and how do we love brothers who may not be all that lovable? “We are God’s children now, and …when he appears we shall be like him…. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure” (1Jn 3:2-3). The fact that we will one day be with Jesus and be like Jesus is what motivates us to the purity of love now, even in the face of a hate filled world. What we will be is rooted in who we are now. “We are God’s children now” (vs 2). We must never forget that. When we forget who we are, we stop living like Christ.