¹⁰In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

To describe the apostle John’s exposition on the love of God as the greatest in all of Scripture would not be far from the truth—he uses the word itself (agape) 100 times in his writings (NASB). To be sure, Paul used the word 136 times, most notably in his description of it in 1 Corinthians 13. But John’s writings carry a more intimate, personal tone. We recognize such interpretations are a matter of judgment, but we cannot minimize John’s self-identification as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23, 19:26, 20:2, 21:7, 21:20). That personal appreciation of God’s love reflects throughout his writings.

Many have rightly noted that John does not present himself as “the disciple who loved Jesus.” It is the other way around. Spiritual life is founded on God’s love for us, not our love for Him. God sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to sacrifice for us. Maybe this is why Paul wrote that even if we sacrifice ourselves, we miss the core of what love is all about.

And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. (1 Cor. 13:3)

One might ask, “If sacrificing ourselves is not love, then what is love really all about?” Paul goes on to further describe what love looks like in terms of attitude, not outward actions. John, however, comes at it from a different angle. The love we need to make our sacrifices worthwhile is a love that is rooted first and foremost in the love of God for us. Without God’s love, we are nothing. Our love for others has meaning and substance and reality and power only insofar as that love is rooted in, motivated by, and empowered by God’s love for us. Our ability to love others comes from God’s love for us, which flows through us to others. This is supernatural love, and it is sourced in God Himself.

So now comes the greatest motivational statement for Christians in the Scripture, the grand “ought” of the Christian life: “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” This is the “new commandment” John first heard from Jesus (John 13:34) and repeated earlier in this letter (1 John 2:7–8). To fully participate in our shared “beloved” status, we need to imitate God’s love in our interactions with other believers. All of our relationships should be saturated with the love of God. We must never forget.

Lord, I never tire of remembering Your love for me; that is my daily bread to sustain me as I seek to love others.