God Loved Us Before We Loved Him
OPENING PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, thank you for loving me as your child. Thank you for seeing me beyond my sin for who I truly am. Help me to understand how much I am loved by you. Amen.
READ:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” (1 John 3:1)
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:7-10)
REFLECT:
When you were a child think about some mistakes you made and how your parents reacted. Maybe it was in your teenage years that you remember making a bad choice that got you in trouble or maybe even when you were younger. Even though your parents were upset with you, they still loved you, not because you were a perfect child, but because of your position as their child. Long before we loved Jesus, God loved us first. God’s love for us has never ceased even when we weren’t yet in relationship with him. It was God’s love for us that drew us into a relationship with Jesus. God’s love for us is reckless in the way that no matter what we’ve done, his love is still chasing us down and seeking us out.
APPLY:
Have you personally thought about how deep God’s love is for you? It’s God that loved you first and it’s God’s love that draws you to Jesus. Spend some time today reflecting on God’s gracious love for you. Write down a couple of ways that you’ve been moved by God’s consistent pursuit of you through his love. Think about how you can be an example of his love by sharing it with others.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, I love you and thank you for your unconditional love for me. May I live today knowing and feeling the amazing, graceful love you have for me. Amen.