1 John 5:2
[2] “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.”
I remember hearing a preacher tell the story about when he was younger, riding down the road with a much older, and wiser, man of God. After some time traveling, he sensed an awkward silence in the vehicle, for the older preacher was a man of few words. Being young, and wanting to make a good impression on the older man, he thought he would strike up a spiritual conversation to break the silence.
He spoke out, and said to the old soldier, “Brother, I sure do love Jesus, don’t you?” The older preacher never smiled and never looked over, but replied by saying, “I’m not really sure if I do or not.” This startled the young man, for he thought, this great man of God has preached all over and has been faithful to the cause of Christ. He sat there, in awkward silence, thinking about what he should say now, because it was not the answer he had expected.
After a few moments he had convinced himself that the man of God had not heard him clearly, so he spoke up again, this time with even more enthusiasm. He said, “Brother, I sure do love Jesus, and I know you love him!” The old preacher replied again and said, “Like I told you a while ago, I’m not sure if I love him or not”. This shook the young man even more. This was his hero in the faith. How could he say such a thing?
Finally, he asked the old preacher. “Brother, I don’t understand how you could say you’re not sure if you love Jesus, when you have proclaimed him to others all these years.” The old preacher replied, “Because Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments”, and I don’t always do that.” The young man realized that loving Christ, and loving God, was more than saying it. Loving him is showing it. We not only show it toward him, but toward others. A spirit filled saint will love both God and his children.