God's Glory Church

“We love Him because He first loved us.” — 1 John 4:19

Once as a child, my now-adult son Xavier spread his arms wide and said, “I love you so much.” In turn, I spread out my long arms and said: “And I love you so much.” In response, Xavier said: “And I loved you first.” I shook my head. “I loved you even when God put you in my belly.” Xavier’s eyes widened. “You won.” “No, we both won,” I said, “because Jesus first loved us both.”

As Xavier prepares for the birth of his first child, I pray that they will have a strong love for each other. Instead, as I prepare to become a grandmother, I marvel at how much I’ve grown to love my grandson since the moment Xavier and his wife told us they were expecting a baby.

The apostle John claimed that Jesus’ love for us gives us the ability to love him and others (1 John 4:19). Understanding that He loves us gives us a sense of security that deepens our personal relationship with Him (vv. 15-17). Realizing the depth of His love (v. 19), we can grow in love for Him and show it in other relationships (v. 20). Jesus not only helps us to show love, but also commands us to do it: “And we have this commandment from Him, that whoever loves God should also love his brother” (v. 21). God always shows more love than we do. No matter how hard we try, we still cannot surpass God!

How has understanding that God loves you helped you love others? How can you show love to others?

Loving Savior, thank you for loving me first so that I could love others.

Author: Sosheel Dixon