THURSDAY March 9th
1 John 3:16-18 ‘By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.’
Having said that we need to be a people who love, John in our verses today reminds us firstly of how we know that Christ has loved us, ‘he laid down his life for us’, he is drawing from what he had heard from the lips of Jesus and recorded in his earlier gospel, ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.’ John says that genuine love would be demonstrated by the fact that if needed we too would be willing to lay down our lives for our brothers. (1 John 3:16) Did you note the reference, 3:16, I often think when I read a reference from one book what it may be in another, and we know of the famous 3:16 in John’s gospel, it is all about God giving his son, who himself would give his life so that as we believe on him we will receive eternal life.
I think that this advice from John is perhaps one of the hardest statements in Scripture to get our heads around, but more so to have to follow it if needed. ‘we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers’. Obviously in its context we know what it means, for Christ has been the ultimate example and it is a Scripture reference that has often been used to recognise the self-giving sacrifice of those who have fought and laid down their lives in the wars that have scarred our history. But when it comes to the very heart of the matter it is a challenge as to how much we love one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, as those who belong to the family of God, would we if necessary make the ultimate sacrifice and lay down our life for a brother or sister.
But as we read further in the verses that follow, John shows us that our demonstration of love needs also to be shown in other ways, and he says that if we have plenty ourselves and see a brother (or sister) in need and yet fail to help them, ‘how does God’s love abide in him?’ (v17) The challenge John is bringing to us is summed up in verse 18 ‘Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth’. Comparing these verses I think it is obvious that if we cannot show love toward a brother or sister who is in need by helping them in their need, then we would most certainly fail if it came to laying down our lives for them, for if we fail at the first and smallest hurdle we would most certainly fail at the second and more difficult hurdle, if we can’t give a coin or two or some clothing or food, why would we give our life?