We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19 ESV).
We say we love God. We want to love him more. We speak words of worship and sing hymns of praise. But for many of us, the heart isn’t as fully convinced as we’d like. We have moments of love, but also moments of wondering whether our love is really genuine. And considering that the greatest commandment of all is to love God wholeheartedly, our reservations are an issue.
Why is love sometimes difficult? Because we can’t love God freely unless we’ve known his love first. That’s why it’s so important to be bathed in God’s love, even if it feels selfish or undeserving at first. Until we’ve been steeped in the richness of his love, we can’t really love him back. And we can’t really love others with his love unless we’ve experienced it for ourselves.
Ask God for a deep experience of his love. Pray for a revelation of how he really adores you. Let yourself soak in the fullness of his love, and be absolutely unashamed about it. It’s the best thing you can do to cultivate love for him in return, and it’s the only way to show his love to those around you. The world desperately needs people who know God’s love and will be grateful to you if you do.
