Topic: True Love Must Give [Wednesday September 5, 2017]
In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for our sins. Beloved, if God loved us so [very much], we also ought to love one another. — 1 John 4:10-11 (AMPC)
Everyone desires to be loved and accepted. But many of us try to find happiness the wrong way. We attempt to find it in getting, but it is found in giving. The love of God is the most wonderful gift we are given. Once it flows to us, it needs to flow from us to others; otherwise, it becomes stagnant.
Love must give because that’s its nature. First John 4:11 highlights how we must give the love we receive: Beloved, if God loved us so [very much], we also ought to love one another.
Living in God’s true love is a process. First, God loves us, and by faith, we receive His love. We then love ourselves in a balanced way, give love back to God, and learn to love other people.
Love must follow this course or it is not complete. Once we have God’s love in us, we can give it away. We can choose to love others lavishly. We can love them as deeply and unconditionally as God has loved us.
Prayer Starter: Lord, I don’t want Your love to become stagnant in me. Help me to not only receive Your love, but to complete the process by choosing to love others lavishly.