I have loved you

This is my commandment,
That ye love one another,
[color=CC0000]as I have loved you[/color].

Greater love hath no man than this
that a man
[color=CC0000]lay down his life for his friends[/color].

As the Father knoweth me,
even so I know the Father:
[color=CC0000]and I lay down my life for the sheep[/color].

This commandment have I received of my Father.

Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.

He that saith he is in the light,
and hateth his brother,
is in darkness even until now.

He that loveth his brother
abideth in the light
[b]and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.[/b]

I speak not this to condemn you:
for I have said before, that
[b]ye are in our hearts to die and live with you.[/b]

Hereby perceive we the love of God,
because he laid down his life for us: and we
[b]ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.[/b]

This is my commandment,
That ye love one another,
[color=CC0000]as I have loved you[/color].

[color=CC0000]as I have loved you[/color].

[color=CC0000]as I have loved you[/color].

Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that [b]we[/b] should be called the sons of God!

When we were yet without strength, in due time [b]Christ died for the ungodly[/b]. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth His own love toward us, in that, [b]while we were yet sinners[/b], Christ died for us.

For God so loved the world, that [b]He gave[/b] His only begotten Son, that [b]whosoever[/b] believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

How shall we escape if we neglect such great salvation?

"In the Tirgu-Ocna prison was a very young prisoner named Matchevici. He had been put in prison at the age of eighteen. Because of the tortures, he was very sick with tuberculosis. His family found out somehow that he was in this grave state of health and sent him one hundred bottles of streptomycin, which could make the difference between life and death."

An officer of the prison offered the young man the package if he would betray his fellow prisoners which he refused. He was then made another offer: betray those prisoners who had turned informants, who were now "denouncing" them, the Christians, and he could have the package. Matchevici's reply is qouted as this

“I am a disciple of Christ and He has taught us to love even our enemies. The men who betray us do us much harm but I cannot reward evil with evil. I cannot give information even against them. I pity them. I pray for them. I don’t wish to have any connection with the Communists.”

Pastor Wurmbrand says that this young Christian returned to the cell they were in and that he witnessed him die 'praising God'. As he put it

Love conquered even the natural thirst for life.

Qoutations taken from [i]Tortured for Christ[/i] by Richard Wurmbrand

A communist officer told a Christian while beating him: "I am almighty, as you suppose your God to be. I can kill you."
The Christian answered: "The real power is all on my side, for [color=FF0000]I can love you[/color] while you tortured me to death."

*Taken from [i]Where Christ Still Suffers[/i] by Richard Wurmbrand