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As an artist and religion scholar, I hope to offer something honest and personal, as I navigate the same world and serve the same God as you. I pray these reflections bring you value when you read them, as they do me when I write them.
-Rondall Reynoso
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The Christian Calling to Love Sacrificially and Live Truthfully (1 John 3:16)
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"We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters."
-1 John 3:16 NRSVue
Reflection
Over the last few years, I have thought a lot about love. From my perspective, the world, and even the Church, seems to be becoming less loving. This lack of love has led me to try harder to understand what love is and why it is central to God's identity and our faith.
In many ways, love is still a mystery to me. What I am certain of is that Jesus Christ personifies God's character, and His life is the most perfect example of love we have.
The climax of Christ's story is a great sacrifice. It is a tragic death, but it isn't a tragedy Jesus couldn't avoid. It is a tragedy that He chose not to avoid. Jesus was not overwhelmed by the power of the Roman Empire. He allowed their violence to be carried out on Him.
The God of creation, who had already humiliated Himself by emptying His divinity into human form, then allowed the religious leaders and secular state to further humiliate Him on the cross.
His sacrifice was an act of love toward us and is the ultimate expression of love. Jesus sought what was good for us even to His own detriment.
If we are to be loving, we should seek to emulate Jesus’ perfect love. That does not mean we will all literally lay down our lives for others. But it does mean we should all figuratively lay down our lives for others.
In the world, in the Church, and even from pulpits, I hear so many claims about who we should be and how we should behave that don't seem loving. They are not rooted in an ethic that is willing to sacrifice ourselves for others. Often they seem like justifications for being selfish or even hateful. Also, they subtly elevate us over others.
That is not love.
We know love because Christ laid down His life as an act of love. In light of that, we should show our love by demonstrating a willingness to lay our lives down for others.
