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

That verse is short. Simple. Easy to memorize. It reminds us of something we forget all the time; love doesn’t start with us.  Not our effort.  Not our kindness.  Not our ability to do better next time.  Love starts with God. And it’s not just any love; it’s the greatest love.

God didn’t wait for us to get our act together. He didn’t wait until we were more faithful, more patient, more generous, or more lovable. He didn’t wait until we figured things out. He loved us first, even right in the middle of our mess.  That’s grace.  We don’t earn God’s love by loving well. We don’t secure it by behaving correctly. We don’t keep it by trying harder. God’s love comes before all of that. Always has. Always will.

God’s love is the source. Everything else flows from there.

We love our neighbors, not to prove anything but because we’ve already been loved. We forgive, not because it’s easy but because forgiveness found us first. We serve, not to earn God’s favor but because we already have it.

That also means when we struggle to love and let’s be honest, we do; God’s love doesn’t disappear. When our patience runs out, when our compassion feels thin, when loving others feels more like work than joy, His love remains steady. Unchanging. Unconditional.

It shows up at the cross. It shows up in baptismal waters. It shows up at the table with bread and wine. It shows up again and again.

Let’s remember when we hear, “We love because He first loved us,” we’re not being handed a new rule to follow. We’re being given a reminder to love and rest in that love from God.

Rest in a love that started long before us. Rest in a love that doesn’t quit. Rest in the greatest love there is.

And from that place slowly, imperfectly, and sometimes awkwardly we love others too.

Kelsey Wilbern – New Member Coordinator