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Growing up, did your parents ever say something like, “Do what I say, not what I do”? Or maybe you are a parent now and have found yourself saying the same thing. It’s like saying, “I am going to tell you what you should do and the decision you should make, but I am not going to hold myself to the same standard I hold you. This is what I expect from you, but don’t expect me to act that way.” As kids, this was maddening, but maybe, as a parent yourself, you get it now. After all, it’s much easier to just tell your kids what to do than to set an example by actually doing it yourself. But the truth is, we all learn much more by observing behavior than just by hearing a list of dos and don’ts. Maybe that’s why God saw fit to send Jesus to demonstrate what love in action looked like.

Jesus didn’t just tell us to love each other; He demonstrated it. He didn’t just give a command and send us on our way. He said, “Love one another. Love your neighbor. Love your enemy. And doing that looks like this.” Then, He went and did it. It makes sense given what John says in this letter about what God is like. Jesus embodied love the way He did because He is God. He came from God, He represented God, He acted on God’s behalf, and God, according to John, is love in human form. God is love. God can’t help but behave as love behaves because love is God’s essence. That’s why Jesus not only said, He did, too!

As Jesus’ followers and as people made in God’s image, we have the capacity and the command to love the same way. It’s who God is, and it’s who we ought to be as a result, too.