I suppose that I had heard that often enough, but I can recall one day sitting in a church congregation. He could have run me over with a truck, for somehow it had never dawned on me that love is measurable growable. But that is precisely what John wants to say love is a test check in on yourself from time to time and see how you re doing. Love is a test for spiritual health. In verse 16 John moves on to say to us that the essence of love is to be self-giving.
Love is to be self-giving.
I wrestled long and hard with this part of the sermon as I prepared it. For Verse 16 says that self-giving love is costly and risky and certainly not easy. We sing about it, we talk about it, we hear it preached so often. It is clear that we will not all be asked to do grand and heroic deeds, but we are all every one of us asked to give ourselves away in costly action. Jesus laid down his life for us by dying for us we are given the task of laying down our lives for each other by living for others.