Jesus says that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and the second is to love your neighbor as yourself. But why does it really matter? John tells us that “Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life.” So basically, love - is a matter of life and death. It’s pretty important.
He goes on to say, “This then is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” There’s a two-fold thing going on here. John says: here’s what love is, now go do it! Jesus says, love God and go love other people. Your relationship with God doesn’t stop with you and God. It’s inseparable from your relationships with other people. And how are we to relate to other people? We do what Jesus did. We die for one another. We love sacrificially.
But what’s so loving about this guy named Jesus laying down his life for you?
Jesus, aka God - perfect, good, righteous, beautiful, blameless, pretty much everything we aren’t, - came from heaven down to our incredibly messed up world. And he didn’t just come for a little while to talk to a prophet through a bush, he came fully human (and fully God). He came to live as one of us with us.
Can you see it? Two extremes coming together.
God likes doing this, bringing things together, things that we might say don’t belong together.
This is love.
Jesus puts it something like this, “Listen up. You’ve heard people say, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But here’s what you really need to do: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Do this, so that you can be sons and daughters of God. ‘Cause you know what? God makes the sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. So what if you love those who love you? Lots of people can do that. You have to do something radically different. You have to love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” (Paraphrase of Matthew 5:43-46).
Ok, Jesus... So, you mean if some guy runs off with my laptop I have to try and forgive him and pray that he becomes a better person?"
Jesus might say “Well, sort of. But love and forgiveness, they aren’t just about positive thoughts and warm feelings. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn your face and let him strike the other one too. If someone takes your coat, let him take all your other clothes too. Love your enemies… lend to them without expecting to get anything back.” So when that guy is running off with your computer, you grab the adapter and bag he left behind and chase after him and say “Hey, wait! You forgot these too!”
"'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, (loving him) you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil. Overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:9)
This is love.
A few years after Jesus was crucified and rose again, there was a guy named Stephen who loved like Jesus loved. But the Sanhedrin, which was made of some religious extremists, didn’t like what Stephen was saying and doing. So they decided to kill him. And what does he do? He starts praying for his killers, while they're stoning him. His last words were “Lord do not hold this sin against them!” (I don’t know if I could do that). Later that day, a great persecution broke out against the Christians, and a young religious extremist, terrorist you might say, named Saul, led the movement.
Some time later, while Saul was on his way to go arrest some more Christians, he had an interesting encounter with Jesus. And he ended up blind. Then Jesus does one of those crazy things. He goes to this other guy, Ananias, and says. “Ananias, go heal Saul, you know, the terrorist who is trying to kill my people, and you.” After trying to get out of it, and being reprimanded by Jesus, Ananias goes to find Saul.
Can you see it? Saul, former religious extremist-terrorist turned good, becomes a Christian and then goes and tries to join the disciples, who don't really trust him.
Jesus calls Saul his "chosen instrument" to bring his message of love to the world. Jesus brought together his enemy and his brothers, just like he came down from heaven, to live among his enemies. And when he died, he let himself be destroyed, taking on the weight and pain of the world’s sin and darkness for the sake of his enemies.
This is love.
Stewart, he was the kid who would run faster than any of the other kids to get the best seat in your lap… or fight for it, whether you wanted him there or not. He wouldn’t cry or even get angry if he didn’t get his way, he just got that determined look in his eyes and kept going until he got what he wanted. Incredibly fun, often mischievous, and rarely calm. 
