The Source of Real Love

“We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19 (NIV)

God is always first. In everything. He takes the initiative. He makes the first move. The only reason you are capable of loving God—or loving anyone else—is because God loved you first.

Love does not start with us; it starts with Him.

God has demonstrated His love in countless ways. He showed His love by creating you intentionally and uniquely. He showed His love by sustaining you, providing for you, and walking with you through every season of life. And most clearly, He showed His love by sending Jesus Christ to earth to give His life for you. Long before you ever thought about God, He was already thinking about you.

We love because God first loved us.

If you want to grow in loving other people well, it has to begin with understanding—and receiving—God’s love for you.

When you begin to grasp how unconditional, undeserved, and unwavering His love is, something starts to change inside you. You begin to extend more grace. You become slower to anger. More patient. More forgiving. More merciful. The love you’ve received starts to overflow into the way you treat others.

That’s why people who struggle to feel loved often struggle to love well. Unloved people often act unloving. Hurt people hurt people. If your heart is filled with anger, impatience, or resentment, it may be because there’s a part of you that still hasn’t embraced God’s love.

God’s desire is to heal your heart with His love—not just so you can feel better and more free (which, you will by the way), but also so that His love can flow through you to the people around you.

It will benefit the people you live with. It will benefit the people you work with. It will benefit the people you come into contact with as you go about your day. When God’s love pours out of you, you are more kind, more patient and more loving to everyone around you.

Scripture reminds us, “We know and rely on the love God has for us” (1 John 4:16, NIV).

So ask yourself: do you really know God’s love? Do you rely on it daily, or are you still striving for approval, validation, or worth elsewhere?

 When God’s love is flowing through your life, loving others becomes less exhausting and more natural. The more deeply you receive His love, the more freely you’ll be able to give it away.