Our thoughts for this newsletter pause on love – if we’re commanded to do it, what is it?
Scripturally, the answer comes in 1 John 3:16 (ESV): “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”
In his book The Cross of Christ, John Stott expands on the significance of the apostle John’s words:
John . . . dares say that, apart from Christ and his cross, the world would never have known what true love is. Of course all human beings have experienced some degree and quality of love. But John is saying that only one act of pure love, unsullied by any taint of ulterior motive, has ever been performed in the history of the world, namely the self-giving of God in Christ on the cross for undeserving sinners. That is why, if we are looking for a definition of love, we should look not in a dictionary, but at Calvary.*
*Stott, John. The Cross of Christ. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity, 1986. 212.
Obviously, it is not hard to find more scripture on the subject of love, but as fathers, husbands, and men, this pair of verses seems worth pondering, since they command us to love.
Ephesians 5:25 (ESV): “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her”
Matthew 5:44 (ESV): “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”
