See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born of God do not sin, because God’s seed abides in them; they cannot sin, because they have been born of God. The children of God and the children of the devil are revealed in this way: all who do not do what is right are not from God, nor are those who do not love their brothers and sisters.
For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We must not be like Cain who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not be astonished, brothers and sisters, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death. All who hate a brother or sister are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them. We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?
Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.
And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.
1 John 3 (NRSV)
There's a lot of theology in this passage that I'm not going to tackle today, because it's concepts that are in the John Stott book I mentioned last time, and I'm planning to get into that next. Today I want to focus on our topic of love.
There are lots of mentions of love in 1 John 3. Here are the different things we read about it:
- God loves us and has made us His children.
- We should love one another.
- We know we have life because we love one another.
- We know love through Jesus' sacrifice, and we should give our lives for one another.
- Loving one another means we take care of each other when we are able.
- Love isn't something you say, it's something you do, and it's based in Truth.
So one bit of theology: God made all people, but we aren't all His children. Only Christians are that, because when we come to faith in Christ He makes us His brothers and sisters. So non-Christians actually aren't mentioned in this passage; it's about how Christians treat one another. Remember, "they'll know we are Christians by our love".
But you know where non-Christians are mentioned?
In that second great commandment: that we love our neighbours as ourselves. And the parable of the Good Samaritan shows us that our neighbours are all of the people around us, even those who hate us, those we dislike, non-Christians... everyone.
So if love means caring for others, and we're called to love everyone no matter what... what does that actually look like on the ground?
I don't know if I can properly explain it, but I'll probably be referring back to some of the concepts I discussed in earlier entries in this series and we'll see how we go.
I think we have gotten confused about what it means to love someone. At its root, love is always the same: patient, kind, honest, supportive, trustworthy, faithful, enduring, and sacrificial.
I want to talk first about honesty, because Truth is something this postmodern world has trouble understanding. Everyone has their own "truth" these days, and objective truth isn't a thing.
Except objective Truth very much is a thing, and it's found in God, in Christ.
Postmodernism sends everyone into a tailspin in the end, because it has no strong foundation. There is no actual Truth, everything is subjective, and woe to any who try to say otherwise. I mean, even the term "postmodernism" means something different to everyone! When nothing has a consistent meaning, when the "truth" is constantly shifting, people get mired down and have nothing to support them anymore. It's quicksand for the soul, and all of today's society is stuck in it.
Christians need to reject this slippery position (if you can call it a position) and hold on tightly to the Truth we know as it's revealed in the Bible. Don't give up the morals, ethics, and doctrine of the faith to make non-Christians comfortable; that is not loving. Stand firm on the solid foundation of the gospel and let it launch you onto that narrow, hard path (probably hard because it is made of that firm foundation).
This brings me to kindness and support.
Because of our lack of understanding of what love truly is, we mistake both kindness and support. It is not kind or supportive to let someone think that anything they do is just fine, that they can claim Christ and continue living as they have until that point. Doing so is not truthful.
Kindness, as I said before, is about how we treat someone. It's being respectful of others, and it's helping people when we don't feel like it. Support is a form of kindness, I think. One of the problems the world has with support is that people think that it means others will be good with whatever they do and help them do it. But that's not support. Just as a table leg keeps the tabletop above the ground, so too should our support keep others from falling into sin. With a firm foundation of Truth, kindness and support will work to help others achieve within the boundaries of that Truth and will not step outside of them.
All of that is a fancy way of saying that sometimes truly supporting someone, true kindness, means we remind them of Truth even if they aren't going to like it much. But it also means we do so respectfully, and we offer our assistance to help them hold on to the Truth if they need it.
What about trust, faithfulness, endurance, and patience?
Because we have Truth, we should be trustworthy and we should likewise trust others. We don't give up on someone, even when they've messed up for the thousandth time. Rather, we continue to remind them of the Truth, we support them to try again, and we are kind and respectful as we do so. We stick around, no matter what.
But what about sacrifice?
Yes, what about sacrifice?
Christ loved us so much He died for us. Martyrs throughout the ages were killed for their faith in Him. And so we should be prepared to give up our lives for those we love--for anyone and everyone.
But sacrifice doesn't have to be that big.
Sacrifice could be as small as focusing and listening to a toddler trying to tell you a story. It could be giving a homeless person your spare change or a bus ticket. It means meeting people's needs, even if it inconveniences us.
That's what Jesus did during His ministry, after all.
He healed people, and He taught them, and He fed them.
But He did also keep tabs on His needs, and He took time away when necessary: time to pray and time to rest.
The point is, we are to love others as we love ourselves, and so we have to look after our physical, emotional, and spiritual needs so that we can do the same for others. Fill yourself to overflowing and then go and let it spill out to those around you!
None of this is easy; it's not meant to be. The hard, narrow way is one of sacrifice, but it is also one of fellowship, of kindness and support, of patience and endurance and faithfulness and trust, and it is founded on Truth.
This feels like it's all a bunch of words that may not actually say everything right. Practical application of this stuff is hard. But that's covered in the John Stott book, which I will begin to discuss next time.
Until then,
Peace & Blessings.
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