Pray the word with David Platt is a resource from Radical.net.

First John 4.19, we love because he first loved us. Kind of like first John 1.9, this is a really

well-known verse from first John because of its simple, short, significant, beautiful reality.

The reality that we love, period, we love God, we love others because he first loved us. How

does that work? Well, you think about it. The Bible clearly teaches first John talks about how

God is love. Love originates in God. Love comes from God. Without God there is no love. God is the

author of love. He is the fountain of love. So any love in us, where does it come from? It comes

from God and his love toward us. So what is the first and greatest commandment? Love the Lord

your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Isn't that an interesting command? Love,

God, we're commanded to love. How does this work? Well, when we realize how much God loves us,

when we realize how lovely God is, then it just makes sense to love Him with all our heart and

all of our soul and all of our mind, all of our strength to be in relationship with Him that is

marked by love. I would just pause there and ask the question, is that a description of your

relationship with God? I love. Is that central in your relationship with God? Do you love Him? Do you

love thinking about Him? Love listening to Him in His Word? Do you love obeying Him? Oh, God,

give us this kind of love for you and love for others, which is what verse 20 thing goes on to

talk about, which is exactly what Jesus said, the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor

as yourself. Verse, John 4, 20 says, if anyone says, I love God and hates his brother, he's a liar.

For he who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

So love from God overflows into love for God and love for others.

And so we pray, God, we want our lives to be marked by love like this, by meditation on your love

for us, by understanding of your love for us, even as Paul prays for the Ephesian Christians that

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