1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us. (NIV)
1 John 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (NKJV)
and this is love
1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. (NIV)
1 Corinthians 13:4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. (NKJV)
I can be patient, longsuffering of others, because God from the beginning of time suffered long for me, was patiently awaiting my return (2 Pet 3:8-9), still deals with me with all patience in teaching me, in renewing and washing me with the Word (Eph 5:25-26).
I can be kind, because God is always kind and gracious to me (Eph 2:4,7), especially in sending Jesus to the Cross. Now that our sins have been paid for, I get to enjoy the fullness of His kindness towards me manifested in the blessings of scriptures, especially Deuteronomy 28:1-14.
I can live free of envy because the Creator of the Universe is not envious that I enjoy so much grace and blessing at His Son’s expense, that I became free for the torment Christ went through, that I became as righteous as God Himself because Christ became sin (2 Cor 5:21). In fact, it pleased Him to bruise His Son for us (Isa 53:10).
I do not have to boast, to parade myself, because God never did that to win my heart. Quietly, He loved me, healed me, made me whole in my spirit and He continues to renew me everyday. Today, all of Heaven’s glory has already been given me (John 17:22) and all of creation is waiting to see this glory that exceeds anything I could ever be in myself (Rom 8:19).
I do not have to be puffed up. Instead, I can submit and be humble and that is okay, because the Son of the Most High God submitted Himself, becoming a man when He was God, to be murdered by His own creation that I might live (Phil 2:8).
I never have to behave rudely to protect myself because my God was never, is and never will be rude, even in chastising me (Matt 14:31).
I never have to look out for #1, protect and preserve myself, because He is always looking out for me (Ps 23:4). He gave Heaven’s best for me (Matt 13:45) and is for me (Rom 8:31-32) and I can never again be separated from His love (Rom 8:38-39, Eph 3:18-19). If God is for me, none can be against me. I can now die to myself, lose my life (Matt 16:24-26, John 12:25).
I do not have to get angry easily, because God exhausted His wrath against sin on Christ (2 Cor 5:21). Toward me, He is slow to anger and rich in mercy (Ps 103:8, Ps 145:8) and will never lose His cool with me.
I never have to bear a grudge again nor remember an evil done against me because He never keeps any record of my wrongs. In fact, Christ has wiped clean the record of my wrongs (Col 2:13-14) and has made me a New Creation (2 Cor 5:17), like having a completely new identity in the face of a criminal record.
My nature today is to rejoice in Truth, the Word, not evil, because God first did that for me, allowing His Truth to set me free from the slavery of sin (John 8:31-36) through the finished work of Christ. Unlike the World, my taste for sin is gone, having died to sin (Rom 6:2, 1 Pet 2:24).
I can look out for others because God bears me up and protects me always. He will never leave me nor forsake me (Heb 13:5).
I can trust God because He trusted me, so much so that before there was hope that I would ever believe, He died for me (Rom 5:8). He has entrusted me with His very best, putting His Holy Spirit in me so I can trust Him freely (2 Cor 4:7). The keys of Heaven are in the hands of the Church (Matt 16:19, Matt 28:18-19)!
I can have hope for others for better things because God has such good plans for me (Jer 29:11). He has a great hope of calling for me, even if I don’t fully realise it (Eph 1:18). He is not done with me and will never give up on me.
Christ bore the worst possible for me on the Cross and persevered through the worst conditions imaginable that I might bear all things. Because of what He has done, I can do all things through Him who strengthens me (Phil 4:13).
I can give unfailing agape love, because God’s love for me will never fail.
I love, because He first loved me.
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