"because he first loved us."

Love it such a funny thing. Miraculous really. Here we are on earth and the earth is created, maintained and upheld by God. God not only created earth, but He created man from His image (Genesis 1:27) and from man, created woman. So here we are, humans on a planet called earth, with a purpose. A purpose to live a life completely and utterly devoted to the glory of God, our creator, sustainer, father and King. We seek to do this by loving God. Making Him our priority, and placing Him and His will above all earthly joys and pleasures, recognizing that how we spend our time on earth, will affect our eternal existence and the life that our souls will live far beyond our temporary time on earth. It seems so simple. Love God, and love others. But love is so confusing. So God, who is love, sends His son to earth, where he lives fully human as Jesus Christ, the saviour of the world. During this time, Jesus shows us the ultimate act of love. He dies for us. He takes the burden of all of our sin which separates us from God, so that we can experience this love. A love like no other love which was demonstrated on the cross. (Romans 5:8) In 1 John 4:19 it states "we love because he first loved us."

On earth, there are so many different kinds of love: friendship, romantic, familial, brotherly and the list goes on. What would it look like if every human relationship we had, we loved remembering that the only reason we are able to experience even a small ounce of love, is because "he first loved us". How would our relationships thus turn our hearts to God in worship and praise of all He has done for us, and spur us on to run towards Him with our eyes fixed on His goodness, remembering His grace and love for us (being the origin of love!). That our love for God, would cause us to love others, and would in turn cause us to run back to God in thankfulness and the cycle would just continue!

I am thankful for the ability God has given me to love and for sending His son as the ultimate act of love. I pray that everyday I can embrace the opportunities I have to love all those around me, and that I am able to love God more "because he first loved (me)" thus giving me the ability to experience such a beautiful and wonderful gift.