3:16
The love that John speaks of, indeed the love that the whole Bible speaks of, is not a sentimental love. Rather, it is based on a firm commitment, with sentiments backup with actions. Jesus Christ demonstrated the true nature of love in laying down His life for us. Note that earlier (2:2) John speaks of Jesus being the propitiation for our sins, or the atoning sacrifice. Here the death of Jesus is seen as an example of how we should love. And remember that Jesus said we should love one another as He has loved us. So we ought to lay down our lives for each other. Ie we are to look after one another, not just look after our own interests.
3:17
In the previous verse John has used the most dramatic example, laying down one’s life. Now there may be a time when we literally have to do that, but it is not something that we will be required to do on a daily basis. Yet we still need to love one another on a daily basis, so John gives a much more mundane, but very important example. Loving one another involves sharing material possessions with those in need, and that is something that we can do in a regular basis.
3:18
Love is to be real, and that means being backed up by actions. It is easy to express “loving” sentiments, indeed “virtue signalling” is an all too common practice these days, both on social media, and in government policies. Love is practical and comes from a sincere heart, it is not just words only. Love that is words only is worthless.
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