Since man’s greatest need is to love God, this is one of the most important and wonderful verses in the Bible. It reveals that our love for God never develops until we discover His love for us. Even if, out of a sense of duty or desire, we try to love God we utterly fail until we make that delightful discovery–“He first loved us“. More glorious words were never spoken. No greater truth has ever been proclaimed.
Religion would turn this around, telling us that we must first do something to persuade God to love us. The reality is that “God commendeth His love toward us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.“( Rom. 5:8). This is the truth that opened my eyes, melted my heart, brought me to my senses, and drew me to Christ. To think that He would love us first, even “while we were yet sinners” is beyond amazing! Considering that we are unlovely and worthy, how could we not love Him? “Love so amazing, so divine, deserves my life, my soul, my all!”.
Why do we love Jesus? While there are numerous factors it all boils down to this one glorious fact—“He first loved us“. He is the cause, the fountain head of all love. A better question is “Why does he love us?” The answer is, “God is love“(1 John 4:8, 16). That is better than anything that could be said about us. God loves us because of who He is–He is love. He needs no special favors from us to make Him love us. He does that in and of himself. We however would never love Him apart from Him. We love Him because His love enables us to do so. It is no wonder the song writer said, “I will sing of His love forever”. His love is proclaimed, proven, personified, personal, powerful, and permanent.It should always be on our mind. Focus on this every moment and you cannot have a bad day. May this be the best day of your life!
