We need to believe in God’s love for us, just as we need to believe in his existence. We need to believe he first loved us.
Suppose there was a young woman, Alicia, looking for romance, who caught the attention of a young man, James, also looking for love. James was handsome, wealthy, kind, and successful. Alicia was invisible to most men, but something about her appealed to him. So, he asked her to go to dinner with him and took her to a pricey restaurant.
They had a pleasant time, but inexplicably by the end of the evening Alicia decided she had no interest in James. He, on the other hand, was infatuated with her.
He was a man who was nothing if not persistent and confident, so he decided to woo her until love blossomed in her tepid heart. He sent her bouquets of flowers and boxes of candy. He asked her to go to movies and dinners, and occasionally she would accept just because she had nothing better to do. He sent her notes praising her beauty and personality, to which she never responded. He wrote her poetry and songs. For a full year he pursued her.
Then, one day the light turned on in Alicia’s heart. She realized what a wonderful man James was, what patience and humility he had shown to her, and how sincere was his affection. Suddenly the intensity of his romantic interest in her was met by her intense interest in him. And the relationship blossomed.
But soon something painful also surfaced in Alicia’s heart. She now loved James so much that she began to fear losing him. She had been cool and indifferent for so long that now she worried James would remember her rejection and hold it against her. If a night passed without a call from James, or if he was anything less than enthusiastic and affectionate when they were together, she would be overcome with fear that his love had waned.
As a result, she began doing everything she could think of to earn and deserve his love. She cooked extraordinary meals for him. She was encouraging, cheerful, and careful never to be in a bad mood around him. But the harder she tried to please, the more she feared losing him.
Who loved first?
This little story illustrates what can happen in our relationship with God. We can doubt his love for us even though he has demonstrated his love in countless ways, and even though his love for us preceded our love for him. We can be tortured by insecurity.
But 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.” God’s love was prior. He loved us first, long before we had any interest in him, long before the world was even created. Ephesians 1:4–5 says, “He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.”
If you could not earn God’s prior love when you were rejecting him, then you cannot earn his prior love after you have accepted him. He loved you first; you rejected him. He kept loving you first; eventually you accepted him. He won’t stop loving you.
Faith in God’s love
1 John 4:16–19 says: “16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.”
God’s prior love is the basis for our love for him. The only reason you love God now and want him now is that he loved you first and continues to love you. You need to believe this. “We have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us” (v. 16). This is an act of faith just as believing that Jesus is the Son of God is an act of faith, just as believing in the resurrection of Jesus is an act of faith. Believing that God loves you is an act of faith. You must choose to reject unbelief about God’s love.
Our way and God’s way
Our way: We may feel we need to earn God’s love. We may feel insecure in his love.
God’s way: He loves us first, before we do anything to deserve his love.
Life principle: We need to believe in God’s love for us, just as we need to believe in his existence. We must not give way to fear and unbelief about God’s prior love.
