Sixth Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord

Most beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God. And everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love, does not know God. For God is love. The love of God was made apparent to us in this way: that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love: not as if we had loved God, but that he first loved us, and so he sent his Son as a propitiation for our sins. Most beloved, if God has so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God. But if we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is perfected in us. In this way, we know that we abide in him, and he in us: because he has given to us from his Spirit. And we have seen, and we testify, that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever has confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love. And he who abides in love, abides in God, and God in him.