We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19 NIV).
A man once came into my office and said, “I’m a Christian, but I don’t feel like I’m going anywhere in my spiritual growth. I’m kind of stuck in neutral.”
I said, “What do you think the problem is?”
He said, “I think my problem is I just don’t love God enough.”
I said, “That’s not your problem. Your problem is not that you don’t love God enough. Your problem is that you don’t understand how much God loves you.”
Love is always a response to love. The Bible says, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19 NIV). When you say, “I don’t love God,” it’s because you don’t understand just how much he really loves you.
To understand your life’s purpose and calling, you have to begin with God’s nature. God is love. Love is the essence of his nature. The only reason there is love in the universe is because of God. Ants and snails do not love, but you were made in God’s image, so you can love.
The reason you are alive is because God wanted to love you. The first purpose of your life is to be loved by God! Yes, it is important to serve, obey, and trust him, but your greatest purpose is to love him.
“Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure” (Ephesians 1:4-5 NLT).
Let this sink in: Your first purpose is not to do anything but to just be loved by God.
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>
Talk It Over
- How can you just be loved by God? What does that mean to you?
- When have you struggled to understand or appreciate just how much God loves you?
- Why is being loved by God the first purpose of your life? Why would God create us that way?
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