Charity (Love)

Don’t wonder if the world hates you.  It does.  One who hates his brother hates you and is of this world.  He that loves his brother keeps God’s commands.  If you keep God’s commands you do not sin.  If you do not keep His commands, you sin and are of the devil. The world brings death, doing the work of Him by keeping His commands brings life.  The commandments require you to love your brother and not just in words but in deeds, to the extent that you would lay down your own life for your brother.  Would you give your life for your brother in need?  In other words, if your life could save the life of your brother, would you accept death to save the life of your brother? You might trade your death for the life of your sick child or mother or father.  But would you accept your own death to save the life of a sick friend or even a stranger?  God requires us to love to that extreme.  But He does not require us to love our brother who is of this world to that extreme.  In other words, if our brother violates God’s commands, lives in sin and thus of the devil, we are not required to lay down our life for such person. Or are we?