10,19 "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins … We love because He first loved us."
1 John 4:10,19 (ESV)
Let's get love right. Let's see things perfectly clear. In 1 John 4:10, the true standard is set, and 1 John 4:19 delivers our best why and only good response. Let's unpack this.
- GOD LOVED FIRST. Make no mistake about it. When it comes to love, God made the first move. He did. He does. He always will. His love is always there, behind everything.
You can't love Him in order to get Him to love you. He's already made the first move.
GOD LOVES BEST. He loves completely and is perfectly, satisfyingly and unendingly expressing it. His love sets the standard. When we love like Him, we love best too.
REAL LOVE GIVES. If there's no pure giving, no real sacrifice, there's no real love. Both the Father and the Son proved real love toward us. May we prove it too.
REAL LOVE RECEIVES. Real love lands. It sticks. It keeps on sticking. It's received. It resonates. It allows the message and messenger in. Our door stays open.
REAL LOVE SPREADS. Real love never takes without also giving. It always gives back. It multiplies. It pushes back to God and then to all He's made.
A prayer to consider: LORD, keep freeing me from the traps of thinking my loving acts for You, my good deeds, will get You to love me (or like me more). And don't let me keep score with others when it comes to love either.
I want Your perfect definition of love playing out in me and through me to others. O, may I let it fly. May it spread far and wide this day, as always. Amen.
