The short answer
Love takes shape in how we treat one another. John 3:16 shows its depth in the Father’s gift of his Son. In 1 Corinthians 13, love becomes patient, kind care for another person’s good. Jesus carries that care even further in Matthew 5: he calls us to pray for those who hurt us. These passages help us understand both the love God gives and the love he asks us to practise. [1][2][3][4]
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God gives his Son: John 3:16
16For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting.
John 3:16Theosis · English Bible[5]
John 3:16 gives you something concrete to look at when you ask what God’s love means: the Father gives his own Son for the life of the world. Cyril of Alexandria draws attention to who this Son is. He shares the Father’s divine nature. That is why the gift is so great. Chrysostom reads these words in the light of the Cross, where Christ suffers for those who have offended him. He then asks his hearers to respond by caring for people in need. Receiving such love calls us to become generous ourselves. [1][2]
Love in daily life: 1 Corinthians 13:4 to 7
4Charity is patient, is kind: charity envieth not, dealeth not perversely; is not puffed up;
1 Corinthians 13:4Theosis · English Bible[5]
5Is not ambitious, seeketh not her own, is not provoked to anger, thinketh no evil;
1 Corinthians 13:5Theosis · English Bible[5]
6Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth with the truth;
1 Corinthians 13:6Theosis · English Bible[5]
7Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
1 Corinthians 13:7Theosis · English Bible[5]
Paul’s words bring love into the moments when patience is tested. Chrysostom explains that patience needs kindness: we can remain outwardly calm and still want to make someone angry. Love seeks to soothe that anger and wants what is good for the other person. This gives us a practical question to bring to a difficult conversation: will what I am about to say help this person? Kindness also needs truth. Chrysostom is clear that love does not help someone do what harms them. Caring may include correction as well as comfort. [3]
When someone has hurt you: Matthew 5:44 to 45
44But I say to you, Love your enemies: do good to them that hate you: and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you:
Matthew 5:44Theosis · English Bible[5]
45That you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven, who maketh his sun to rise upon the good, and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust.
Matthew 5:45Theosis · English Bible[5]
Praying for someone who has hurt you can be a demanding act of love. Christ explicitly asks it of his disciples here. Chrysostom follows the steps of this teaching: turning away from revenge, doing good and asking God to help the person who has wronged us. Jesus points to the Father, who gives sunlight and rain to the just and the unjust. His kindness becomes the pattern for ours. A practical way to respond to this passage is to bring that person before God in prayer and ask for their good. [4]
Continue reading in context
Sources and text edition
- Cyril of AlexandriaCommentary on John, Book II
John 3:14 to 18, printed pages 173 to 176; John 3:16 at pages 174 to 175
- John ChrysostomHomily 27 on John
Sections 2 and 3, John 3:14 to 16 and exhortation to generosity
- John ChrysostomHomily 33 on First Corinthians
Sections 1 to 4 on 1 Corinthians 13:4 to 7; section 2 on refusing harmful assistance
- John ChrysostomHomily 18 on Matthew
Sections 4 and 5 on Matthew 5:43 to 45; enemy prayer in section 4 and imitation of the Father’s kindness in section 5
- Bible textTheosis · English Bible