SCRIPTURE:
“We love because He first loved us.”
1 John 4:19
OBSERVATION:
1 John 4 centers on the overwhelming truth of God’s love. Love did not begin with us searching for God — it began with God reaching toward us first.
Before we loved Him…
Before we obeyed Him…
Before we understood Him…
He loved us.
Jeremiah 31 carries the same heartbeat. God speaks tenderly to His people even after their failures and wandering. In verse 3 He says:
“I have loved you with an everlasting love.”
Not a temporary love.
Not a performance-based love.
An everlasting love.
God’s love remains steady even when people are unsteady.
APPLICATION:
Sometimes I can fall into striving — trying to earn God’s approval through performance, productivity, or “doing enough.”
But Scripture reminds me that my relationship with God begins with His love, not my effort.
I obey because I am loved.
I serve because I am loved.
I worship because I am loved.
And when I truly receive God’s love, it changes the way I treat other people too. It softens harshness, increases compassion, and helps me extend grace more freely.
People who know they are deeply loved by God tend to love others differently.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank You for loving me first and loving me with an everlasting love. Help me rest in Your love instead of striving for approval. Teach me to receive Your grace deeply so that Your love flows through my life toward others. Let my words, actions, and attitudes reflect the love You have shown me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
