That Big Word IF

1 John 5

2We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments. 3 Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. 5 And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

There it is. The biggest word in the English language. Yeah, I know that John didn’t write this letter in English originally, but the word is there in the translation from Greek to English, and it is key. The word? “IF.” Loving God is the point here, and loving God is shown by OBEYING His commands. IF we love God we will obey His commandments. If we disobey those commandments, we do NOT love God. Loving God is not just about believing, it is about obedience as well. Oh, if those who would try to dumb down faith would just come to terms with that Scriptural admonition.