Love doesn’t take life, it lays down it’s life

1 John 3:16 We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. What a contrast again John set before his readers. The one who hates is a murderer, one who takes life from his brothers. The one who loves doesn’t take life; he lays down his life for his brothers. We know this because that’s what Jesus did for us, His brothers. So it follows that everyone in whom Jesus abides and who abides in Jesus ought to lay down their lives for their brothers. When Jesus commanded His disciples to love one another as He loved them, He had just initiated the process of laying down His life for them. He had only minutes before told Judas to quickly go and betray Him (John 13:27). He was on His way to the cross. Obviously John didn’t miss the point. He made it here. Laying down our lives for those we love is like Jesus. In a sense, Jesus is still laying down His life for us as we die to ourselves in order to love each other. We should expect loving with Jesus to cost us something—our lives in this world. We should love our brothers more than we love our lives in this world. John unpacked this kind of love in a practical way in the following verses. Today, let’s be ready to die to ourselves, ready to lay down our lives, to love our brothers and sisters in Christ.