Love’s Source and Response

1 John 4:19 (ESV)

[19] We love because he first loved us.

Overview

Friends, have you ever experienced a love so profound that it changed everything about you? I remember a young couple in our congregation, struggling through a difficult season in their marriage. One day, during counseling, the husband shared how he felt unworthy of love, how he doubted his ability to love his wife well. But then, as we delved into the Scriptures, we stumbled upon 1 John 4:19, a verse that illuminated their hearts and mine: "We love because he first loved us." Let's unpack this together today.

Essential Points

1. The Initiating Love of God: You see, before we ever made a move toward Him, before our hearts ever stirred with affection, God's love reached out to us. It wasn't our goodness that prompted His love, but His very nature. Like a relentless wave crashing upon the shore, God's love pursued us, broke through our barriers, and captured our hearts. This love, pure and unearned, became the catalyst for all our love.

2. The Transformative Power of Love: As we grasp the depth of God's love for us, something remarkable happens within us. Our hearts, once hardened by sin and self-centeredness, begin to soften. We start seeing others through the lens of grace. Our actions, once driven by selfish ambition, are now motivated by a desire to reflect God's love. It's a transformation that goes beyond mere behavior change; it's a heart overhaul.

3. The Reciprocal Nature of Love: Now, here's the beautiful paradox: the more we receive and understand God's love, the more we're compelled to love Him back and to love others. It's like a dance of reciprocation, where each step draws us closer to the heart of God and to one another. Our love becomes a response—a natural overflow—of the

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love we've received.

What Matters Most

So, what does this mean for us today, my friends? It means that our ability to love others well doesn't originate from our own efforts or emotions. It springs forth from the deep well of God's love within us. When we're faced with challenging relationships, overwhelming circumstances, or our own limitations, we can draw on the wellspring of God's love to sustain us. We can love sacrificially, forgive relentlessly, and extend grace extravagantly because He first loved us.

Wrap-Up

As we close our time together, remember this: God's love is not a distant concept or a theoretical idea. It's a tangible reality that shapes our daily interactions, our choices, and our priorities. Let's walk in the confidence that we are deeply loved by God, and let that love flow through us to a world desperately in need of it. May our lives be a living testimony to the truth of 1 John 4:19: "We love because he first loved us.

See Also

1. John 13:34-35 – "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another."

2. Ephesians 3:17-19 – "And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

3. Romans 5:8 – "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Friends, let's go forth this week, empowered by the love of God, to love others extravagantly and authentically. Remember, we love because He first loved us. Amen.

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