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So God is love, at the very core of God's being. God reveals that he is the source of love by sending his only Son to bring us forgiveness and new life. As recipients of such amazing love, there is really only one response we can make: to show love to one another. And this is precisely what John recommends: "Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another."
Love is who Christians are.
These are challenging words. After all, John is not talking about an emotion here, but an act of the will that can have a transformative effect. "If we love one another," promises John, "God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us." If we take the bold step of loving one another -- God will live in us and bring his love to completion in us.
Love is at the core of what it means to be a Christian. Loving one another and believing in Jesus are two sides of the same Christian coin.