1 John 3:16

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We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Background
As mentioned in the prior scriptural reflection (blog), John lived into the 90s AD.  As such, he was living with mostly second generation Christians.  And, as is not rare of any second generation, some key knowledge and wisdom of the first generation starts to become lost.  Four of the five writings of John included in scripture are to remind the audience of key truths and wisdom that Jesus taught John and the others that followed Him.  The first writing of John sequentially in the New Testament is John’s gospel mentioned in the prior blog.  The next three writings are short, targeted letters titled 1 John, 2 John and 3 John.  The fifth book is the prophetic book of Revelation.

People were already infiltrating the Church trying to message that Jesus brought to the world including that God is true source of “light” (truth) and the ultimate response to truth is to love others as ourselves.

What it meant to the original audience
The letter was a clear reminder that the people trying to infiltrate the Church were false teachers trying to replace the message Jesus came to deliver.  The letter clearly reminds them to stand on who was Jesus (God’s Son sent with purpose), the truths He brought and that a proper understanding of Jesus’ message should lead us to loving others as ourselves (it is better to give than receive).

For us today
The message for us today is basically the same as it was to the original audience.  Jesus summarized all God’s teachings into two basic life principles:

  • Seek God above all else because:
    • God is offering an unconditional love based relationship with you
    • God is the only source of absolute truth — understand and trust it
  • Love others as yourself — it truly is better to give than to receive

John 3:16 calls us to the first lift principle and 1 John 3:16 is a call to respond in action to the second principle.  When we understand, trust and live out these two principles, we find peace and purpose that only God can provide.