He First Loved Us

Photo by Isaac Quesada on Unsplash

Our world is starving for love. People feel empty inside and search for someone to complete them. Online dating and apps provide modern options to hanging around bars to meet someone, but they can also lead to frustration. People want lasting relationships, but many are willing to settle for one-night stands. 

Valentine’s Day can hold a strong sting for singles because society pushes relationships as the norm. Yet some people in relationships aren’t feeling fulfilled. They put all their expectations for love, joy, and happiness in one person, which winds up in disaster.

What happens when he doesn’t bring flowers anymore? What about when she quits fussing with her hair and makeup to look her best? The infatuation stage only lasts so long before people take off their masks.

Even in committed relationships, no one can ever fulfill all the other person’s expectations. What if he misses his daughter’s piano recital because he is late at work—again? What if she refuses to cook dinner because she has other competing priorities? People are fallible and will let us down at some point, whether they want to or not. They can’t help it. They are human.

The only One who can truly fill all our hopes and dreams is God. First John 4:19 says, “We love Him because He first loved us” (NKJV). We have the capacity to love God and others only because our Creator us loved us first. He intimately knit us in our mother’s wombs so that we could grow to worship Him. We were made with God sized holes in our heart that only He can fill. When we try to fill our hearts with anything but God, it is like trying to shove a square peg in a round hole. It won’t fit.

God has a bigger heart for us than we could ever deserve. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (NKJV). He knows the depths of our hearts and loves us the same.

When we realize how much God loves us despite all our sins, we can’t help but love Him back. We can never earn God’s love. All our righteousness is like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Even if we tried our best every day to be perfect, we’d fail. Reality shows that we are fallen beings, under the curse of sin and death. So, we confess our need for a Savior and experience a love like no other.

God’s love floods our every fiber when we surrender our hearts to Jesus. Then, we discover the love we have fruitlessly sought for elsewhere. Even though life won’t always be easy after receiving Christ’s forgiveness, He will never drop us on our heads. If we want true love, we need to put all our hopes and expectations in Christ. Only God can complete us.  

May we grow in love for God and others. Let’s make Him our first love because He first loved us.

• Have you ever put unrealistic expectations on another person? What happened?
• How does knowing God loves you change the way you relate to others?