Why does God want us to love one another?

In 1 John 4:7-12, we are reminded that love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. God’s love was manifested through the sending of His Son as a propitiation for our sins, thus modeling the kind of sacrificial love we are to exhibit towards one another. Our love for fellow believers is a mark of our relationship with God, affirming our faith and the reality of our salvation. Failing to love others contradicts our claim to know God, reinforcing the importance of community and mutual edification within the body of Christ.