(ThyBlackMan.com)
We love Him, because He first loved us.
1 John 4:19 KJV
In the hustle and bustle of daily living, we can forget God’s love for us. If we’re not careful, we tend to busy ourselves with ministry work, church activities, and outreach programs to try and earn God’s love. To that individual, I say, there’s absolutely nothing you can do to make God love you more. Thoroughly I understand wanting to display our affection to Deity and demonstrate the worthiness of His favor. The scriptures themselves admonish us to “walk worthy” to our calling of being His children. However, there is no such thing as getting God to love you more. His love for us didn’t originate in time and, therefore, isn’t based on the ever-changing conditions of our lives. Rather, His love emanates from eternity, a place that forever is, and this is where our love from God builds its foundation.
Child of God, God chose to love you. He decided to have fellowship with you of His own volition and sovereignty. Our God is so great in His immeasurable love and devotion to us lesser-than-angelic beings. This love cannot be broken or shattered for the Divine decided to desire. What need exists in the Godhead? What lack is there in the Almighty? And, if there was any want within His nature, do you consider yourself ample to supply? Of His own free will, He decided to love humankind without coercion or force. And this decision was made in eternity, where it remains at its fullest.
The passage of time cannot diminish His love; no ocean is deep enough to drown it or put out the fire of His passion. And as such, with genuine love, it overflows; it pours out of the Godhead into creation, particularly humans, in this way: “For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him doesn’t have to perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 The eternal choice of God’s love sent ripples in time where God has bountifully expressed His love by sending His Son to die for us. This is love indescribable, love ineffable, love sublime!
Therefore, when this incomprehensible love is rightly apprehended, it evokes a response from our hearts. When this unbelievable affection is appropriately understood, out of gratitude, we can’t help but love Him, who first loved us. Because God didn’t wait until sinners could merit, salvation should make us adore Him more because, as sinners, we never could. Instead, “God commended His love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 This is why our love is a response to His love. There was nothing we could’ve done to earn love from God, so He freely gave it, consummated in the sending of Jesus Christ. God performed this while we were still wretched, miserable, and damned; the unacceptable made accepted in the beloved.
As a result, we labor and toil to walk worthy of God’s goodness, not to earn more love from God but to demonstrate our own. His love cannot increase, but ours can. We can submit more to His known will, relinquish more of our attitude for His mind, and give our bodies as living sacrifices by refusing to indulge in sin. Yes, we can even suffer for His name’s sake because He first chose to suffer for us. He saw us as we were and still loved us; therefore, we can display our love to Him even though we haven’t seen Him yet.
Staff Writer; C. E. Davis
This man of God can also be found online over at; InfiniteTruth Devotion.
One may also drop an email: CEDavis@ThyBlackMan.com.
