The message, received from the beginning (11), is brotherly love. This is the unique mark of God’s children: love that comes from God and is directed toward one’s brother—those who love experience a new birth, or a new Passover (14). But be cautious! To love means to love like Jesus, who loved us to the end. If love is genuine, it must be shown “in deeds”; it cannot be satisfied with being ‘in word or speech.’