The message heard from the beginning.

1 John 3:11 For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; Recorded in John 13:34, in Jesus’ last message to His disciples he gave them a new commandment that they love one another as he loved them. From this verse, it is apparent that the command to love one another was a message that was given at the beginning of one’s walk with Jesus. Those John wrote in this first epistle had heard that message from the beginning of their faith in Jesus. Love for one another, according to Jesus, was the proof to the world that a person was a disciple of Jesus. He was known for how He loved (with the Father), and His followers would also be known for how they loved (with Jesus). God’s strategy was not just that Jesus’ disciples would be known for loving, it was how they loved that would be unique and powerful. They loved with the same love that Jesus loved—the love empowered by God—a supernatural love. This is the message of the rest of my life—God has called His people to glorify Him by loving with Jesus. That is why I wrote Live to Love: Experience Freedom and Joy in Relationships. If Jesus lives in His people, then they have the same purpose and worldview Jesus has. To believe in him is to surrender one’s life to Christ to be an expression of His life in this world. This verse encourages us that loving one another is the same as practicing righteousness, which has been the truth flowing through the previous verses in chapter 3. So be encouraged today to intentionally live to love with Jesus. It’s the message given to believers from the beginning of the church, and it is how we glorify God. Finding our satisfaction in life from the love and life of Jesus, we can live out of His fulness and love for His glory.