The Little Letters - Day 11

1 John 3:16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?

I have always found the parallels of this text and  John 3:16 interesting.

John 3:16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave  his one and only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world but to save the world through him.

They sound much the same, but the 1 John text heads in a different direction in verse 17.
We know that the sacrifice of Jesus, at least to John, was the pinnacle of showing love for one another. He mentions that we know what “real love” is, and it is sacrifice. Not always a sacrifice of one’s life, but certainly the concept of living sacrificially. This kind of living is the basic tenet of being a servant leader, being a servant to Christ, and living in a Christian community with one another. Without this concept deeply in place, can we call each other community?

John wants us to know that because we know that because we understand what this “real love” is, we have to live differently than we did before we experienced this kind of incredible love. And this expectation is played out in the very next verse.
 
The example given is what we will do for a brother or sister who is in need, particularly when we have the means to help take care of them. This agency that we have due to our station or resources, must be put at the disposal of those who need it the most. It seems to be imperative for John.

But can he mean that we give away what we have worked for in order to lift the station of others? I think so, yes.
 
And we have wrestled with this idea of sacrificial giving and living before. We have seen these texts that the early church shared things, they helped one another out, and they thought of property as communal. Scripture speaks to this a great deal. And Jesus exemplified this kind of living every day of his ministry. So would we take it seriously?

1. What should you give away? 
2. How can you help others? 
3. John is not actually serious, is he? 
4. What does this look like in your life? 
5. Does this mean you don’t keep anything? 
6. What about your family? 
7. Who lives in this kind of corporate community anymore? Does anyone? 
8. Is that really what we are called to?