Jesus said that the greatest commandment was to love God with all our hearts and our neighbor as ourselves (Matt. 22:36-40). The New Testament tells us that it is very important for Christians to love others. Jesus said, "All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another" (John 13:35). If we fail to grow in love for one another, people have the right to say that we are not even Christians. The Bible tells us to love one another in a very practical way. One a religious teacher asked Jesus what it meant to love his neighbor. Jesus replied by telling the Parable of the Good Samaritan. This parable teaches us that to lvoe our neighbor means we must meet the needs of the people we encounter in life. We must give them a helping hand in whatever way we can, even if it costs us something. Another important part of loving others is that we must be willing to forgive those who hurt us. Paul wrote to the Colossians, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you" (Colossians 3:12-13). We must be willing to forgive because God has forgiven us so freely and fully. Forgiving others is so important, in fact, that Jesus said if we refuse to forgive others, the Father will refuse to forgive us (Matt 6:14-15). Because God loves us, He forgives us and accepts us as we are. If we are to love others, we must do the same. Read Colossians 3:12. What qualities are we to put on or clothe ourselves with? Read 1 John 2:9-11. What must we do in order to live in the light and avoid stumbling or failing the Lord? Read 1 John 3:14, 4:7. What does it mean if we love our fellow Christians? What does this say about us? Read 1 John 3:14-15, 4:8. What does it mean if we fail to love our fellow Christians? Read 1 John 3:16-18. What will we do if we really love our fellow believers? Read 1 John 4:11. Why should we love each other? Read 1 John 4:12. What happens when we love each other?

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