love & be loved
because we can only love others & accept love for ourselves when we understand that
God first loved us
thelabl.co
thelabl.co
A testimonial blog about the experiences and learning opportunities God has allowed me to go through that have aided in getting to know Him through witnessing His love for me. His love for all of us!
What It Means
Matthew 22:37-40 says the most important commandments are to love God, and to love your neighbor as yourself.
1 John 4:19 says that we love because He first loved us.
We are called by our Heavenly Father to love Him and to love others. Seems easy enough typed on a screen, but applying it in every moment takes immense amounts of practice. Don’t let that deter you. There is grace where we fall short. I want to get into this 1 John verse. It sounds so sweet on its own, and it is, you don’t even have to think about it that long to know that it’s a good word. And there's more: 18-21, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out all fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because He first loved us. If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have also from Him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”
Jesus in Matthew 22:37-40’s commandments gets to the point, and He’s reaffirmed in 1 John. You must love God and love your neighbor as yourself. It’s repetitive, and that makes it something to pay extra attention to. As Christians, we should devote our lives to this. It’s part of the Great Commission. How can you make disciples of all nations if you don’t love God or others, or know that you are loved? This is the sanctification process: knowing the truth of what your Father says about you, accepting it as the truth, and living as if it is the truth– not only for yourself, but for others. And believe me, as you start learning how much God loves you, you won’t be able to help but love Him back.
Jesus Loves You!
I know you all have stories about how God has shown His love to you, and I want to hear about them! Be sure to write me down below!