Original Love

1 John 4:19
The Message (MSG)

19We, though, are going to love--love and be loved.  First we were loved, now we love.  He loved us first.

I have been thinking about this concept the last couple of days and being unable to get it off my mind, I decided it must be put into words.  This is not my first mention of love in this blog, but I do feel like there is an important element of love, especially God's love, that we miss sometimes.

As mentioned in a previous post, some of us don't really even know what love is.  Society, for sure, has confused it with so many different things.  But, if you really want to get down to it, love originated with God.  He is love.  I don't know about you, but there have been times in my own life where my perception of God was a little skewed.  I pictured Him sitting up in the sky somewhere on a big throne...with a stick of some kind.  Yep!  I figured He would use that on me if I did something bad.

That picture, even at this moment, makes me grin a little sheepishly.  I realize that that concept of God and love is a bit backwards and turned around.  He loved me, you, first!!  He is not waiting for us to love Him.  He is not waiting for us to get our lives all straightened out.  He is not waiting until we feel worthy of His love.  He is not waiting for us to even know how to love.  He loved us first.  Already.  Before.  In spite of!!

If you feel unworthy, sinful, ugly, guilty, shameful and somehow you think that means you don't deserve or can't be loved by God.  It's too late!  He already loves you and me and proved it via the cross.  And all He wants in return is for us to love Him back with that same kind of love.