The Children's Bible
The Love That Makes Men Brothers

e 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.
      
      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 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.
      
      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.
      
      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.
      
      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.
      
      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?
      
      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.