I John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.”
Do you remember your first love? I do. Well, actually, I remember my first loves. I was in kindergarten, and I had two beaus, Casey and Ray. One day, they told me I had to choose between them, so I gave them a test. After all, if I was to make a wise choice, I needed to see which one loved me the most. I asked them if they liked my dress.
Casey said, “Yes, it’s very pretty, but I liked the one you wore yesterday better.”
Ray said, “The dress is pretty, but you look pretty in everything you wear.”
Ray and I remained sweethearts for the remainder of that week at least, and we remained fast friends for the duration of our elementary school careers.
It’s a good thing God doesn’t give us a test to see if we are worthy of His love. He just loves us.
John has said it over and over. God is love. He is the source of love. The only way we can ever hope to love each other is if we have God living in us. Without God as the source, the best we can hope for is a cheap imitation.
Human love says, “What can you do for me?” God’s love says, “What can I do for you?” Human love says, “How can I possibly forgive you?” God’s love says, “I forgive, because I love you.” Human love has limits; God’s love is limitless.
God wants to share a love relationship with us, and He is the initiator in that relationship. This is the only way such a connection is possible, because it is not in our nature to love so completely, so perfectly. The only way we can have real love for Him or for each other is to first accept His invitation to live in Him, and He in us. Then and only then will perfect love have birth in our souls. We can love . . . because He loved us first.
Dear Father, Thank You for loving me first, so that I can understand what real love is.
Amen
Just love the little anecdote!
🙂
Thanks, Carol-Ann! It’s pretty amazing that I was that savvy at that age. I’m not that savvy now! 😉
Amen, Renae. Because He first loved us…
(Looking forward to the new website you’ve got cooking!)
Thanks, Cheryl. I’m looking forward to it, too! 🙂
Cute story. You were pretty wise at six years old!
I can quote the verses, write about it and tell others, but it’s hard to really grasp the love God has for us. I wonder if we, as humans, even have the capacity to do more than just catch glimpses of His glory.
I don’t know, Kelli. Sometimes I think He reveals things to us as we are able to grasp them; otherwise we would be lost. His love is pretty incredible!