1 John 3:16: By This We Know Love

1 John 3:16
[16] By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. (ESV)

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

"God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, "I love you."
- Billy Graham

So many people claim to know what love is. Hollywood gives us movies that are more about lust than love. The love that the world offers is selfish. It tells us that we deserve to take pleasure in any form that we desire. We deserve this. So, we grow up under this influence as prideful, self-serving, brutes that abuse others in order to get what we want. This is not love.

The Apostle John reminds us that the way we know love is by seeing the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. He laid down his life for us. He sacrificed his perfect self for our sinful selves. If anyone had a right to demand their own rights and get what he wanted it was God himself. Jesus laid aside his rights and humbled himself so that we could be the recipients of love.

Love is powerful. Love changes hearts. Love is first and foremost from God. If your definition of love does not start with God's definition it is not love. And our passage goes one step further. Not only are we the recipients of God's wonderful love, we are admonished to lay our lives down for others as well. Jesus said, "Freely you have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:8)

Have you received God's love? In what ways will you lay down your life for others today? How can you sacrificially give what you have received?

Comments

Romans 8:18: For I Consider That The Sufferings Of This Present Time Are Not Worth Comparing

Romans 8:18 [18] For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (ESV) Perspective. What an important word. Let's be honest. We do not like the idea of suffering. We will do almost anything to avoid any kind of suffering. Some churches have gone so far as to preach against the idea of suffering, declaring it to not be a part of the true believer's life. Paul is not shy about the topic. Paul uses the sufferings of this present time as a means to consider the greater glory that awaits us. Perspective. Paul is not in any way attempting to diminish our suffering. A view toward eternity puts our suffering in a proper understanding. Yes, our suffering is terrible. In the grand scheme of eternity it is not even worth comparison. Maybe you are thinking that Paul does not know what he is talking about when it comes to suffering. In 2 Corinthians 11 Paul describes countless beatings, often near death,

Romans 11:24: For If You Were Cut From What Is By Nature A Wild Olive Tree, And Grafted, Contrary To Nature, Into A Cultivated Olive Tree . . .

Romans 11:24 [24] For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree. (ESV) We continue looking at the illustration of an olive tree. The root of the tree is the covenant relationship relationship of God with Abraham. Abraham's faith is what this spiritual tree is built on. The first branches would have been the faithful people of Israel, who like Abraham, placed their faith in God. They believed God, just like Abraham, and it was credited to them as righteousness. There were branches of the people of Israel who never placed their faith in God. Because these branches were not true followers of God they were broken off of the tree. Faith in God was the essential element that made the branches true branches of this spiritual tree. Some branches remained. Others, the faithless unbelievers, were removed. After Jesu

Romans 15:20-21: And Thus I Make It My Ambition To Preach The Gospel, Not Where Christ Has Already Been Named

Romans 15:20–21 [20] and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, [21] but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.” (ESV) We need to be reminded continually that the message of the Gospel is intended to move all across the world. Jesus said that his followers were to preach the Gospel, starting in Jerusalem, and continue preaching the Gospel to the whole world. Christians have not always been good at delivering the Gospel message as far and as often as they should. In the first century church it took intense persecution to motivate the disciples in Jerusalem to bring the Gospel to Judea and Samaria. Once the disciples fled to new regions they shared the Gospel wherever they went. Would the disciples have preached the Gospel without the persecution? We may never know. Some probably would have stayed in their co

Search This Blog