1 John 4:19 speaks of a love bond with God saying, “We love Him because He first loved us.” This love in the Greek language of the New Testament is “Agapao” which is to love in a moral and social sense without the need for affinity, chemistry, or feeling to spawn it; an unconditional love exclusive to the Christian community and unknown to outside writers! It is the exact same love that God expressed in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world…” and demonstrated as Romans 5:8 portrays, “…while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” God’s desire is for us to respond to this love like a spouse to her beloved who has just proposed, with open arms and full embrace! In Matthew 5:37-39 Jesus shows us that this love is first expressed toward God; however it does not stop there but extends to “love your neighbor as yourself.” This love fulfills God’s law for it “does no harm to a neighbor” Romans 13:8-10, and extends to those who would do you harm as you “love your enemies” Matthew 5:44 as well as to those who falsely accuse you. In Job 42:10 we have a classic example of a man who made intercession and supplication for his “friends” who had made false accusations against him, and for this act of love God’s blessings were outpoured on him!
We love Him
By Rose Hill
We love Him because He first loved us,
And He wants us in Him to put our trust.
He said we should love Him with all our heart,
And to put Him first from the very start.
To give Him our soul and all our mind,
This is the greatest commandment you will find.
And the second one is good for your health,
You must love your neighbor as yourself.
Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson Co. used by permission.