1 John is a great, if somewhat complex, letter and one of its themes is love. As it deals with the issue of assurance for the church to whom John writes love is repeatedly the focus.
Be it God's love for us (3:1, 16) shown in Jesus death, lavished upon us making us children of God. Or the command not to love the world (2:15-17) or the things in the world.
In 3:23 we are given two commandments : "that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us." It got me to thinking do I love others as God commanded me to or is it in a half-hearted way the I command me to.
It is quite striking when you read the context surrounding the rest of 1 John 3. (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." John goes on to unpack this for us in terms of what we do with our money, and our actions.
God's command is for sacrificial love yet so often I (we) do manageable love, yet God through John says if I really get God's love and the way it is lavished on me in Christ then I cannot but love others like that! The challenge is will I?
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