What Does Love Look Like?
This is one of those passages where careful interpretation is in order. Taken literally, one might say anyone who does not do what is right is a child of devil. Considering we have to confess the things we have done wrong or the good things we failed to do on daily basis, we seem to be in big trouble. After all, who wants to be known as a child of the devil.
So what can this actually mean? As always it is important to understand the writer's purpose in writing the letter, and the prevailing conditions for the church at that time. At the time of the turn of the first century, lots of heresies were starting to take root in the early church. One of those heresies was that once you became a believer and were forgiven, your behavior wasn't the issue anymore. Or, love is subjective. What is love is relative to each person. As Jesus' favorite disciple John saw Jesus' love as much as anyone. Jesus trusted in John so much that he entrusted his mother to him when he died.
So how do we learn about how we should love one another, especially the brothers and sisters in the body of Christ? First he says, don't expect the kind of love God commands in the world. Since the world doesn't know God, they won't know how to love like him. So how can we know what this love looks like? John makes it simple, "This is how we know what love is that Jesus laid down his life for us!" So if you are not quite sure what love looks like, study Jesus' life. How he loved his disciples and the others God brought into his life that others found unloveable. And then the penultimate example of true love is when Jesus willingly gave up his life for ours on the cross. How could you have a truer, more pure example of unconditional love?
And so John summarizes the message to this new community of faith, this is the love that should characterize the Christian community. If we call ourselves a Christian, we should love like the One whose name we bear. And here is the thing, though none of us are Jesus, he is the One we follow and pattern our lives after. And as we remain in Jesus' love (see John 15), we can love like Him. Apart from his presence in our lives we can do nothing.
As Jesus' love abides in us, it will flow over to those we live in community with and into the world. After all how will they know we are Christians if we don't love like Jesus did?
1 John 3:10-16
10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
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11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters,[a] if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
So what can this actually mean? As always it is important to understand the writer's purpose in writing the letter, and the prevailing conditions for the church at that time. At the time of the turn of the first century, lots of heresies were starting to take root in the early church. One of those heresies was that once you became a believer and were forgiven, your behavior wasn't the issue anymore. Or, love is subjective. What is love is relative to each person. As Jesus' favorite disciple John saw Jesus' love as much as anyone. Jesus trusted in John so much that he entrusted his mother to him when he died.
So how do we learn about how we should love one another, especially the brothers and sisters in the body of Christ? First he says, don't expect the kind of love God commands in the world. Since the world doesn't know God, they won't know how to love like him. So how can we know what this love looks like? John makes it simple, "This is how we know what love is that Jesus laid down his life for us!" So if you are not quite sure what love looks like, study Jesus' life. How he loved his disciples and the others God brought into his life that others found unloveable. And then the penultimate example of true love is when Jesus willingly gave up his life for ours on the cross. How could you have a truer, more pure example of unconditional love?
And so John summarizes the message to this new community of faith, this is the love that should characterize the Christian community. If we call ourselves a Christian, we should love like the One whose name we bear. And here is the thing, though none of us are Jesus, he is the One we follow and pattern our lives after. And as we remain in Jesus' love (see John 15), we can love like Him. Apart from his presence in our lives we can do nothing.
As Jesus' love abides in us, it will flow over to those we live in community with and into the world. After all how will they know we are Christians if we don't love like Jesus did?
1 John 3:10-16
10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
More on Love and Hatred
11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters,[a] if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
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