Because of Love

We love because he first loved us.” — 1 John 4:19 (ESV)

I John 4:19

God’s love is always the starting point. Love is God’s idea, and anything good in our lives comes from Him. He set the model of what love should be.

God created us out of love and for a relationship with Him. Scripture tells us that humanity was made in His image (Genesis 1:26–27). Unlike the rest of creation, we were given souls — the capacity for thought, emotion, moral awareness, and self-reflection. Psalm 8 reminds us that although we are lower than God, we are crowned with glory and honor because we bear His image.

God loves us enough not to force His will upon us. We are not robots programmed to obey or love Him automatically. From the beginning, He granted humanity the freedom to choose. As Joshua declared, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15). Love that is forced is not love at all; genuine love requires the freedom to respond.

When we truly love Him, our lives start to take on a specific order. Our priorities shift to put God first, followed by our family, friends, and others. As it says in the Gospels:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Matthew 22:37-39

We love others because that is the second greatest commandment. This love isn’t just for our family, friends, or those we care about. We must also love the annoying and hard-to-tolerate people. This isn’t a romantic or even familial love; it’s a genuine concern for their well-being and a desire for their best, based on God’s declaration that they have value.

This is the kind of love that challenges us to approach others with compassion and understanding, even when they don’t deserve it or have hurt us. As Colossians 3:13 (ESV) encourages,

“Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”

We love because He first loved us. When we truly understand that truth, compassion becomes our response, grace becomes our posture, and love becomes our witness to the world.