The Other Three Sixteens: Finding God's Love in ScriptureSample

1 John 3:16 (NIV) - “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”

God demonstrates His love for us every day, teaching us how to show our love for Him and for the people around us. The ultimate act of love happened on the cross, when Christ gave His life in exchange for our freedom from sin. There is no love greater than that!

We, too, are called to love others through sacrifice. We aren’t able to give as much as Christ, but there are many ways to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 1 John 3:17 describes providing for the physical needs of those around us and having compassion for them. When we sacrifice our own well-being to provide for others, this is a form of laying down our life. We can sacrifice our time to serve our neighbors and community, or choose to vote in a manner that benefits others more than ourselves. We have the ability to push aside selfish ambition and devote our lives to the good of the people we love.  And when it becomes difficult, we can put aside any complaining, sacrificing our comfort to love others like Christ.

God’s love is sacrificial, and we can respond in kind. Our loving God is so invested in His dear children that He gave the most precious thing to save us: God sacrificed His Son. Jesus endured suffering on earth in order to love us. It wasn’t easy, but it was the only way that we could be saved. It mattered so much to God to keep us with Him eternally that He sacrificed greatly to secure our place in heaven. This is ultimate love, and it is the love that lives in us. This extreme love is meant to overflow from us onto our brothers and sisters.