In praying over this blog the other day, I heard the Lord say, “your love for me, tell them of your love for me.” Your love for me… Honestly, I was puzzled by if He meant my love for Him or His love for me. But when I started to explore what He meant, I find that the two cannot be separated. And John tells us there is a third component that also goes hand in hand (in hand) with my love for Him and His love for me— a love for people. 

We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4:9 says “God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” He died a horribly awful, humiliating death all because He loves me. Who has ever displayed that kind of love for me? Who else has made such an excruciating sacrifice for me? Or you? No one but Jesus.

Hebrews 12:2 says that “Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the JOY that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” You, my friend, are the JOY He saw set before Him. You are who He was thinking of while hanging on that tree. You are the reason He came down from heaven. You are why He went to the cross. He did it all for you. He loves you so much. And so do I. If you are inspired to read more about God’s love, 1 John 4:4 – 1 John 5:5 is a really good place to start. 

““We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.” 1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬