This 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 and sisters.

1 John 3:16

Love is an action, not just an emotion or feeling—and Jesus’s sacrifice is the ultimate proof of this level of love. The way in which he ‘laid down his life for us’ defines the true nature and measure of what unconditional love really is, and it is the north star that we should practice measuring up to throughout our human existence.

To lay down your life for another doesn’t necessarily mean death like Jesus. Rather, it represents sacrificial service and action—to put someone before yourself, to help when you can, to be more selfless, to receive God’s love and spread it to others, to give without the need for reciprocation. What this ultimately means is that we remove all conditions and barriers that prevent us from loving one another—we no longer act in ways that feel self-serving, we stop trying to prove something, and we give without the need to ever receive.

This is the difference between worldly love and sacrificial love—when we give up the parts of ourselves that operate from the ego, we move from needing to be loved to actively loving others. We do so, not because of what it will lead to, but because the love that we receive from God is so vast, so beautiful, so wholesome, that we learn to spread it wherever we can.

As John reminds us, ‘This 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 and sisters.’ When we understand the depth of Christ’s love for us, it transforms how we love others—moving us from self-centered living to sacrificial service that reflects the heart of God.