1 John 4
“We love him, because he first loved us.” (v. 19)
I have said it before, and will no doubt say it again, “Love responds to love.” Our children only love us because we first loved them! Think of it; when we nurture them, and coddle them, they quickly grow to love us, because of their dependency on us! When we learn to depend on Christ, we will learn to love Him. Love grows from dependency.
God created in us the need for dependence, so that we would, through dependence, demand love. If someone else would have responded with love to our need, we may have loved them instead! I think of our children, and newly born babies, they know not how, nor whom to love! They respond, because they are dependent on us, to whoever meets the need! They learn to love the one who provides for them, no matter who that may be, whether the mom, or the nurses in the hospital, etc., they will grow to love the one that cares for them. Our dependence demanded love, and thereby drew the love of God out of Him, but it was because He implanted the need within us in the first place! Just as we need to be needed, God also needs to be needed, and repays us with love.
New born babies, while in the hospital, learn to love their nurses because they are usually the caregivers, at least at first. They wash them, and check them over, and perhaps are the first to clothe them. The mother then gets to “take over” soon, and the baby learns to love “momma”. Why? Because mom is the one who meets the baby’s needs. At that age, they don’t know what love is, they do not know really who is who, all they know is that this woman is meeting their need, whatever it may be. They learn to love whom they have depended on. When we find our love growing cold, and our heart being wrenched away from the Lord, we need see where our dependency lies. Are we fully depending on Him, or on someone else? It is so easy for us to transfer our dependency to another, but we need to focus on Christ, and trust Him, and depend on Him; it will help us to love Him more. Become dependant on the Lord, and you will love Him more.
“We love him, because he first loved us.” (v. 19)
I have said it before, and will no doubt say it again, “Love responds to love.” Our children only love us because we first loved them! Think of it; when we nurture them, and coddle them, they quickly grow to love us, because of their dependency on us! When we learn to depend on Christ, we will learn to love Him. Love grows from dependency.
God created in us the need for dependence, so that we would, through dependence, demand love. If someone else would have responded with love to our need, we may have loved them instead! I think of our children, and newly born babies, they know not how, nor whom to love! They respond, because they are dependent on us, to whoever meets the need! They learn to love the one who provides for them, no matter who that may be, whether the mom, or the nurses in the hospital, etc., they will grow to love the one that cares for them. Our dependence demanded love, and thereby drew the love of God out of Him, but it was because He implanted the need within us in the first place! Just as we need to be needed, God also needs to be needed, and repays us with love.
New born babies, while in the hospital, learn to love their nurses because they are usually the caregivers, at least at first. They wash them, and check them over, and perhaps are the first to clothe them. The mother then gets to “take over” soon, and the baby learns to love “momma”. Why? Because mom is the one who meets the baby’s needs. At that age, they don’t know what love is, they do not know really who is who, all they know is that this woman is meeting their need, whatever it may be. They learn to love whom they have depended on. When we find our love growing cold, and our heart being wrenched away from the Lord, we need see where our dependency lies. Are we fully depending on Him, or on someone else? It is so easy for us to transfer our dependency to another, but we need to focus on Christ, and trust Him, and depend on Him; it will help us to love Him more. Become dependant on the Lord, and you will love Him more.
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