This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 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. Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. 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. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. (1 John 3:11-18)
It is amazing that after so many thousands of years of so-called human evolution we are still so unclear as to the nature of true love. Perhaps it is because love is such a powerful force. It is so powerful that we hardly know how to adequately describe it. There is no doubt that love has been the most written about topic of all time. In prose, poetry, plays, television, and movies, we see this notion of love popping up over and over again.
In whatever way we define love, we all find ourselves longing for it. The words "I love you" are powerful words indeed. To hear those words is a wonderful thing. It makes us feel warm inside. Those words cause us to feel good about ourselves. That’s because love is dynamic. Love has the power to liberate. And we all have a need to be loved and to express love ourselves. This need is basic to human existence itself.
Now this brings us to an interesting question. In a world where love is in such great demand, why isn’t there more love? Why are people hateful, cynical, critical, and downright belligerent? Sometimes it seems that our society, while desperately in need of love, produces precisely the opposite. Even in the church, where love should abound, we find unloving people.
There seems to be a tension in our world between love and hate. While love is a powerful force, hate can also be powerful as well. In fact, hate is the enemy of true love. Hatred is the tool of the Devil and he uses it with great skill to destroy people’s lives. Love, on the other hand, is the high calling of every Christian. Love is a reflection of the very nature of God Himself. When we truly love, the power of God is unleashed in our lives – a power powerful enough to defeat hatred.
Our text today reminds us of the power of love in the life of Christian believers. As we look at the lessons it teaches, we will not only be made aware of the priority of love but we will also be directed to the greatest example of true love ever given and inspired by that example in how we let love show through in our lives.
We have a choice to make. It is a choice between love and hate. You might be thinking that it is really an easy choice. After all, who would not choose to love? But it is not that simple. If it were that easy, everyone would be loving all the time. There would be no hatred and hurtful actions in our society. But this is not the case, is it?
While love is a choice, there is more to it than simply choosing. We must not only desire to love, we must have the power to love. The Bible teaches that the power to love must come from God Himself. In fact, we are informed from the Scriptures that God is love. Notice that it does not say that God has love. Rather, it says that God is love. In other words, love is a reflection of the nature of God. As such, it should also be a reflection of the nature of God’s children.
And so we find God giving us the exhortation to love. He specifically calls His people to reflect His nature by loving others. John tells us that this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Here is the command to love. John says it is a command that has been around since the beginning. And indeed, we see that command even in the Old Testament. Love, you see, is not a New Testament innovation.
In Leviticus 19:18 we read, "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord." Love, as I said, is not merely a New Testament innovation. Love is found from the beginning of the Bible to the end. Some people today, even some ministers, have the mistaken concept that the God revealed in the Old Testament is wrathful, whereas Jesus is loving. But in both Old Testament and New, we see God as a God of love. We must be careful not to mistake the holiness of God for hatred. God is at the same time a God of holiness and a God of love.
Consider these Scriptures found in the Old Testament, which reveal the love of God. Deuteronomy 23:5 – "However, the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you." Jeremiah 31:3 – "The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love.’" Hosea 11:1 – "When Israel was a child, I loved him." And finally, Malachi 1:2 – "I have loved you," says the Lord.
There is no doubt that God is a God of love, and always has been. What we see in Jesus Christ is His love fully manifested. And this God of love has clearly commanded all of us to love one another. We see this command given also by Jesus in John 13:34-35: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Jesus reiterates the command that we have had from the beginning.
What is interesting in the command of Jesus we just read is that He links the manifestation of this love with the identification of Christian discipleship. In other words, the world comes to understand that we are followers of Christ when we show love. John says the same thing in verse 14 of our text today: We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. In other words, love is an indicator of new life in Christ. If we are truly born again, we will love.
In verse 13 we are told: Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. The world is full of hate. It is a characteristic of people without Christ. And many times people hate people who do good. People hate people who love. The reason for this is given clearly in the example of 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.
But while the world may hate, Christians should love. Love is the mark of the Christian. The supreme characteristic of a Christian ought to be love. Love is designed to say something to the world about us. The old song says it well, "They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love."
The supreme example of true love is Jesus Christ. Christ is our example of how to really love. John tells us in verse 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. God is love. And God sent His Son Jesus Christ because He loved us. Jesus came and died because of love. He gave the supreme sacrifice – the sacrifice of His own life. And now He calls us to love one another with the same kind of love.
Let’s look back at Jesus’ statement in John 13:34: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." Here is the key. We are not to love just as we love ourselves, but as Jesus loved us. In the old commandment, we were to love our neighbor as ourselves. In the new commandment, we are to love one another as Jesus demonstrated He loved us. This is the new extent, or the new degree of love we are to demonstrate.
The question then becomes, "How did He love us?" The answer to that question is simple when we look at Jesus’ life. Jesus loved us when we didn’t deserve His love, when we weren’t too lovable, because we needed His love. And He loved us sacrificially. Listen to John 15: 13: "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." And this is what John is telling us in our text today. He says that we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. Jesus loved us enough to lay down His life for us. And what makes this love even more incredible is that He did it while we were still in our sin. Consider Romans 5:8: "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
This is the difference between the God-like love known as agape love in the Scripture, and the human love known as phileo. Agape love is the love of God. Phileo love is the love we call friendship. Agape love is other-centered. Phileo love is self-centered. One gives because it expects to get back in return (phileo), and the other gives and expects nothing in return (agape).
Phileo love is brotherly love. In fact, it is from this Greek word that we get the English word Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. Phileo is reciprocal love. We give it out and we receive it back. And to truly have a good friendship, both parties must give. There is nothing wrong with this. In fact, we all need this kind of love. We need to give it, and we need to receive it. We need friends, and we need to be friends.
But there is a higher love – agape love. This is God’s special love. It is the kind of love God manifested in sending Jesus. It is the kind of love Jesus manifested in going to the Cross to die for our sins. It is a self-giving, other centered love.
To have agape love is to love because someone needs love. Perhaps it is best described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." This is a beautiful picture of God’s love. It is a picture of who God is, for God is love. It is a picture of His nature. It is a picture of Jesus’ nature. In fact, you would well put Jesus’ name there instead of the word love. To put His name there works well.
And Jesus is calling us to follow His example. Jesus is calling us to love others like He loves us. Jesus is calling us to let love be our nature too. Try putting your name in the passage in 1 Corinthians instead of the word love. How does it work? How’s your love life? If Jesus is our example, how well are we doing?
How do we manifest the kind of love Jesus manifested in His sacrificial death? How do we show this love to the world? What is the evidence of this love? Verses 17 and 18 give us the answers: If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
The evidence of love is good deeds. Love is not only an attitude; it is an action as well. We are told to love with actions, which are good deeds, and we are told to love in truth, which is a right attitude. In these ways we can demonstrate the love of God in practical ways.
Now all of us want to love. But sometimes we just don’t know where to begin. There are, however, some practical ways we can demonstrate our love to one another.
First, we can show our love for one another by how we think about one another. The thought is the father of the deed. It says in Proverbs that a person is how he thinks in his heart. If we have critical and judgmental thoughts concerning one another, we can be sure that the love of God will not be manifested by our lives. Loving actions must first begin by loving attitudes. We must give one another the benefit of the doubt. We must see one another through the eyes of faith and hope. In Romans 15:7 we read, "Accept one another, then just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God." We are to receive one another as Jesus received us. When we came to Jesus we were all freely accepted. We must cultivate an attitude of acceptance toward one another. This is one way we can show our love.
Another way in which we can demonstrate our love is by how we speak about and to one another. The Scriptures exhort us to speak words seasoned with grace. Words are powerful things. They can either encourage or discourage. The words we speak ought to be words of encouragement. If you become someone who always has an encouraging word, people will beat a path to your door. Everyone likes an encourager. No one likes a cynical, sharp-tongued backbiter. Speak words of encouragement. This is another way you can demonstrate your love.
Finally, we can also show our love by how we act toward one another. We must not love in word only, but also in deed. We need to think right thoughts about one another, speak right words about one another, and do right deeds for one another. Love, you see, is not a feeling – it is an action of the will. To give your enemy a cup of cold water is to show love. Sometimes the smallest things are enough. But whether great or small, we cannot show love in a passive way. We must be pro-active in our love. Love is something we do. An act of kindness here, a good deed there – love in action – that is what we want. What is it that you can do to show your love to someone else? Begin to do it. It will have a powerful impact.
Remember that we testify to the world that we are really Jesus’ disciples by how we love one another. Love testifies. Love liberates. Love also has the power to liberate others around us. When the world sees our love they become more receptive to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Love can liberate an entire society of people because they desperately need love.
Do you hear His command today? Do you see His example of love? Do you have the evidence of His love in your life? Let His love liberate you today. Reject any feelings which keep you from loving. In the place of bitterness and resentment put forgiveness. Release people to be who they are. Give them hope to become who they can be. Reject all manipulations and criticism. Ask God to liberate you by placing His love in your heart. As you are liberated by His love, you will find that His love liberates those around you. Commit yourself to love in thought, in word, and in deed. You can become a powerful witness to the grace of God and to the difference that Jesus Christ can make in a human life. And you will become a new communication to those who behold how you love. In Christ your love life can be fantastic.
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