1 Peter 3:8 “[Suffering for Doing Good] Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.”
This verse is the beginning of what would be a sermon by Peter on the benefits of living a good life. The Lord Jesus Christ wasn’t just telling us to love one another for the sake of the other person; The Lord was instructing us how to behave for our own good. Loving others WILL benefit us.
Peter continues on to the point of saying that loving others will lead to a long and happy life (1 Peter 3:10) and people who love will live in greater peace and blessedness (v13-14). Loving others may seem a difficult task, but what the world doesn’t know is that we, people in-Christ, operate out of His love for us and not solely out of our love for others. Our motivation and encouragement to love lies in the revelation that Christ died for our sins once and for all (v18). We behold Christ and how He has freed us from sin and then we become free to love one another.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35
What a great and wise God Jesus is! He commands us to love one another, He shows us how to do it, and He, by dying on the cross, freed us from sin to carry on His command. And when we obey His commandment, He rewards us and blesses us with a great and peaceful life! How not to love Him back? How not to freely love others as He commanded?
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