In the book of 1 John, John wrote to Christians facing challenges from a group who separated themselves from him and the other church leaders and who denied Jesus’ identity (1 John 2:18-23; 4:1-3). Motivated by the turmoil they were creating (1 John 3:4-10), John wrote to address those Jesus-denying “antichrists” (1 John 2:18-19). His response revolves around two central messages:
“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5)
“This is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another” (1 John 3:11)
We will consider the second message – “we should love one another” – in this lesson. That message of love corresponds with our celebration of Valentine’s Day later this week, a day dedicated to love. However, the holiday’s marketed love contrasts with the love John described. We will therefore consider the message of love 1 John and the place it should have within our lives.