"What Does It Mean to Love Others as Jesus Loved Us? A Christian Perspective"

1 John 3

The apostle very plainly outlines the way we are to love each other within the body of Christ. God the Father has provided the ultimate example of His greatest commandment that we have heard from the beginning, that we love each other. God is love, this was manifested in the Son dying for us. As children of God, we also show our love towards our fellow brethren by abiding in God. In Him, we are made righteous and add to our love while abstaining from sin. We love the brethren in deed and truth. That means we love in every way not just with our words. In the way of Abel whose works were righteous before God.

In contrast, if we do not abide in God how can we love? We do not know God and are children of the devil, who was a deceiver from the beginning, there is no righteousness in us and we love only in word and tongue. We go after the way of Cain and our works are not the result of love but of evil and leads to death.

Therefore, as Christians we are to love each other as Christ loved us, even unto death, giving new meaning to the phrase “love you to death”. This is love, that we keep His commandments of the greatest is to love one another, which is not burdensome to keep.