"We love because he first loved us." - 1 John 4:19
This section in 1 John (verses 11-19), is the backbone of John's letter. We see in this section that John is saying that the primary way in which Christians are to be recognized is by love. And not just the feeling of love, or an emotion, but by an outward display of what we do for others.
This is quite possibly the shortest verse that we've covered so far, but it offers incredibly profound words. Romans 3:10 says this, "as it is written: 'None is righteous, no not one;" - we don't just wake up one day and decide to love. God, who is love and created love, loved us first - and we are not to take credit for any of the love that we have and show to others.
Now read these next words carefully, as they are important in understanding what I'm saying, and the power of this verse: God loved us before we were ever even capable of loving Him, and therefore we can only love others because of what God has done in our lives.
As you read on beyond this verse, you'll see that verses 20 and 21 will further specify that this love is not just an affection between us and God. It includes love for others. Remember when Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment in the Law was? His answer was simple and dealt exactly with what we are talking about today:
"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." - Matthew 22:36-40 NIV.
Jesus tells us explicitly that we are to love God fully and love our neighbor as ourselves. Something we see all throughout Jesus' teaching and interactions in the New Testament, is the deep understanding and knowledge He had of the Old Testament. Did you know that Jesus was basing this teaching off of two sections from Scripture? Let's look at Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Leviticus 19:18.
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."
- Deuteronomy 6:4-5
"you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord."
- Leviticus 19:18
The answer was there all along and has been told to us by God from the very beginning, yet we struggle with it each and every day. We're told that those who claim to love God but hate others are liars. It's commanded of us to live out the presence of God's love in our lives.
As you go about your day today, keep this in your mind: our love for God and others originates in His love for us, and His love is the incentive for our love. God loved us at the cost of sacrificing His Son for us (John 3:16). He took the initiative and loved us first. 2 Timothy 3:5 says, "Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ." An omission of love on the human level is an indication of the absence of love on the divine level. It is God's love that makes divine love on the human plane possible, and all true love is a response to God's initiative. So let us each pray that we are able to go about our day with our hearts directed "into the love of God and into the patience of Christ."
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