Because He first loved us

We love Him because He first loved us. - 1 John 4v19

We only love God because He first loved us. Without that there would be no love for Him. I realise these posts have been a little repetitive the last few days, but that’s because the same phrases are used over and over in 1 John. God is not going to waste words in the scriptures, so there must be a reason for the repetition.

‘We love Him because He first loved us’ is followed by –‘If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.’

Love for God and love for brethren are inextricable. We only love God because He loved us first. We claim that we love a God Who we cannot even see, and yet we have a hard time loving our brethren all around us who we see every day. How can that be?

It is easy to say “I love God’ because that is a kind of ethereal generic saying. Who can question us when we say ‘I love God’ when there is nothing to test the statement by?

So God sets a standard – ‘You say you love me? Prove it.’ Then He gives the test – ‘He who loves God must love His brother also.’ Just before are these very tough words – ‘If anyone says “I love God,’ and hates his brother he is a liar!’
This has been quite a segment on the importance of love for the brethren. When the final chapter of our course of human history is written, there will still be love. We might as well get used to it.