I
have some acquaintances who did some very heroic things. They put their own
lives on the line to save other people. Some did it in a combat zone. Some did
it here at home. We see a story about a passerby reaching into a burning
vehicle to rescue the trapped passenger and ending up with severe burns
themselves, but saving a life. Our fire fighter’s job is about walking into
danger to save others and they do it every day. The police who walk up to a
stopped vehicle or domestic dispute never knowing if this is the time the
gunfire will erupt.
There
are some organizations that try to honor the heroes of our society, especially
those who have been wounded fighting our nation’s battles. My hat goes off to
them. They took the fight away from our shores, giving us the ability to sleep
safely at night, shop in our malls, and worship in our churches. If the battle
had not been pushed over there, the Boston Marathon bombings would be a
frequent occurrence here, just like it is over there even today.
But
how do we say thank you in a tangible way to those who have given so much? And
how do we say think you to the LORD who offers us freedom from the sin that
traps and entangles us?
John
in our text for today tells us how we should respond to the LORD’s love for us.
He says that we should love one another. Our response to His love should be our
love. He loves us so we should love one another. John is beginning to sound
like a broken record, isn’t he! This must be really important for Him to repeat
it so often in this short letter. The original readers of this letter must have
needed this encouragement in the middle of their struggles for the faith. They
were being wooed by a false teaching that must have deemphasized the importance
of community. I think that is why John is so insistent about this point. We
must love each other.
So,
are there fellow Jesus-followers with whom you have a dispute? Have you allowed
a petty offense to stop you from demonstrating the same kind of love that Jesus
showed to us? This lack of love gets in the way of the Gospel. Non-believers
see this lack of love and point their fingers and make excuses.
The
motivation to love each other comes from looking at the extent of God’s love
demonstrated in Jesus’ atoning death. He gave it all for us. We should do the
same for each other. We can’t do less.