Musings on First John (3:11-17)

¹¹ This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. ¹² Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. ¹³ Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. ¹⁵ Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.
¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?

What’s the message that’s been around since “the beginning?” We should love one another. It’s in the Old Testament; it’s in the New Testament. It seems like half the world is like Cain and belongs to the evil one. Oh, well, it’s our duty (right, privilege, destiny, obligation) to love our neighbor. But what is love?

Going around in my head are the lyrics to a 1984 song by the musical group Foreigner: “I want to know what love is.” Hey, guys, the answer is right here in verse 16. And how we should show that love to our neighbor is pretty clear in verse 17: help those in need.

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EXODIA

By Debra Chapoton

an amazing re-telling of the story of Moses