I've been reading through your paraphrase of I John, and one nagging question that arises in me is if I really do not love others, even in my own family, as God loves, it seems like maybe I am one of those empty talkers without the life of God within. For if I'm really connected to Him then won't I love as He loves? How does this life and love really become a reality all of the time and genuinely. I really do not love as He loved in that He laid down His life for us. I've never done that and question if I ever would. Tim

Tim, you're always going to come up short when you compare what you think you see in yourself to what you think it ought to be. Empty talkers are usually trying to convince others of some kind of superiority. I don't see that in you. Your words may not sound so great in your own ears, but I hear a lot of honesty in how you cut through any illusions of superiority on your part. Don't despair because the seeming lack of your own intense scrutiny.