The apostle John, who spent three-plus years of his life following Jesus — watching him perform miracles, preach powerful sermons, and demonstrate love — was the writer of the gospel that bears his name and the three letters that appear late in the New Testament (First John, Second John, and Third John), as well as the book of Revelation. In his first letter — or epistle — John writes very caringly and lovingly about what the Christian life should look like, giving emphasis to the kind of love Jesus repeatedly taught about when he was on earth.

It was John who recorded these words of Jesus just prior to his arrest, trial, and crucifixion: “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other” (John 13:34). And it is in the apostle';s first letter that we read of what that love looks like.

Jesus wanted his disciples to know that what they were about to embark on — taking the message he had preached to the world around them once he was gone — could only be done if they were bound together in the kind of love Jesus showed them every day. That is why John so strongly echoed in his first letter the teachings of Jesus when it came to love.

In 1 John, we read of our love for God and what that means, and we read how our love for him motivates, encourages, and empowers us to love one another. The book of John, then, is a love letter to believers throughout the centuries.