1 John 3:17

Love must be practical. It is easy to “lay down one's life”: martyrdom is heroic and exhilarating; the difficulty lies in doing the little things, facing day by day the petty sacrifices and self-denials which no one notices and no one applauds. τόν βίον τοῦ κόσμου, “the livelihood of the world”; see note on 1 John 2:16. θεωρῇ, of a moving spectacle; cf. Matthew 27:55. κλείσῃ, schliesst : the metaphor is locking the chamber of the heart instead of flinging it wide open and lavishing its treasures. σπλάγχνα, רַתְֽמִים, viscera, “the inward parts,” viewed by the ancients as the seat of the affections. Cf. Colossians 3:12 : σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ. ἡ ἀγ. τ. Θ., “love for God” (objective genitive), inspired by and answering to the love which God feels (subjective genitive). Cf. note on 1 John 2:5.