I John 3:16 “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.”
Our Lord Jesus Christ willingly “laid down his life for us” whereby He showed, for all to see, that He loves us enough to sacrifice Himself for our benefit. Twice our Lord Commanded us to “love one another” as He has loved us: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” (John 13:34); “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” (John 15:12). This “commandment” is not just an order to feel “love” for “one another”, but to put that “love” into action. The feeling of this “love” is given to us at the moment of Spiritual Birth (John 3:1-8), but the real value of this “love” is seen in the things we do to show it. In John’s day, and cyclically throughout history, the Church has suffered greatly at the hands of evil governments and cruel religions. In the periods of such evil and cruelty we must show our “love” to our Lord by remaining faithful to Him and to His Church! And, we must show our “love” for our “brethren” by rushing to their aide and comfort when evil and deprivation is cast upon them. Suffering is often an awful thing to see, but our God-given “love” empowers us and emboldens us to face the horrors of suffering and help “one another” even if it disadvantages and imperils us.