Because God First Loved us

Scripture Verses that caught my attention today: 1 John 4:19-20 We love because he first loved us. 20 Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.

Observation: This is an often overlooked pair of verses.

Application: Elsewhere in Scripture we are told of the “fruits of the spirit.” In other words, there are certain characteristics of Christians that are supposed to stand out. Unfortunately, this does not always appear to be the case. Many who understand themselves to be Christians and might even proclaim it to their dying day, nevertheless harbor grudges, resentments, and even hate in regard to other human beings. And so their self-confessed “love” of God is found wanting. To put it in John’s harsher terms, they are “liars” and not truly lovers of God at all.

At some level, such could probably be said for most if not all of us. There are holes in the comparison between what we profess to believe and how we function in the world. Rather than face the frustration we find in ourselves, it’s easier to project that frustration onto others.

Thankfully, the fact that God loved us first still holds sway. Even before we are able to truly love our neighbor as ourselves, God’s love for us is still the trump card. We may often find ourselves caught in our own lie, but are not caught without God’s love. And every time we take such love to heart we are, at the same time, able to recognize and face the hypocrisy in our own person. That’s precisely the time that another opportunity for personal transformation can take place—to love another because God first loved us.

Prayer: Lord, thanks for the love that you have first offered to us. Help us to, in turn, share that love with one another. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Readings today included: Jeremiah 31-32 and 1 John 4