1 John 3:16-18 — Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

This is one of those “say it again” pieces. I was reminded of this truth today during my quiet time … and it’s worth saying again and again …

Are you old enough to remember Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly singing Cole Porter’s song “True Love” in the movie “High Society”? I remember it because when I was a kid we had an LP of the movie soundtrack …

While I give to you and you give to me true love, true love! So on and on it will always be, true love, true love

For you and I have a guardian angel onhigh, with nothing to do, butto give to you and to give to me love forever, true

It’s a charming simple song, and it encapsulates very sweetly the world’s confused idea of love.

The world’s view of love is that it is some mysterious romantic feeling, appearing from heaven. Then it lasts forever … Unless, of course, the loved one doesn’t live up to expectations. Love, of course, is sustained with gifts, romantic meetings, sweet nothings … And if you lose those loving feelings,then you’re “gone, gone, gone”. (Yes, another song, Phil Spector this time …).

God’s view of love, of course, is completely different. 

You don’t feel love. You do love. And love is completely not dependent on how the loved one behaves. Love has no limits.

God didn’t just tell us about love. He showed us. He did tell us, of course. The Bible is full of His thoughts on love. But let’s talk about the “doing”. 

God laid down His life for us. (By the by, notice that this truth in 1 John 3:16 confirms that Jesus was God in His own right, and that it was God who died on the cross). Before it came to that, though, God had already sacrificed greatly. Paul told the Philippians:

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:5-8)

That’s doing love. When you’re prepared to give up position, possessions, and life itself, for your loved one — no matter what they might do — that’s true love.