This post about love is the second in a three-parter that helps break down a biblical ordering of love. If you haven’t already, you might want to read the first post here: The Truth About Love 

By way of reminder, it is imperative that we see culture’s lesser messages for what they are, know God’s truth about love, and pass this truth on to the next generation.

And that begins with a good and right, biblical ordering of love.

He Loves Us

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ~ 1 John 4:10
We love because he first loved us.  ~ 1 John 4:19

First comes God’s love. If you know and love the Lord; if you have a relationship with Jesus Christ, it is because He first loved you, not because you first loved Him.

He has set His affection on us. If we want to love well, we must know and believe this truth. Our God’s love is real; His love is sure; His love is perfect; and His love is the very foundation on which our love is built.

Love God First

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.  ~ Matthew 22:36-38

A Pharisee lawyer, who would have had great knowledge of the commandments and the Law, asked Jesus this question to test Him. Admittedly, I don’t know if He passed this Pharisee’s test, but Jesus’ response was clear.

We are to love the Lord our God first. We are to love the Lord our God above all else. We are to love the Lord our God more than we love anything else. We are to love the Lord our God more than we love ourselves. We are to love the Lord our God more than we love anyone else.

In a good and right, biblical ordering of love, the foundation is God’s love. From His love we are to love the Lord our God first.

Since it’s not easy to love God first, spend some time this week asking Him to help you love Him. If you are a parent, spend some time this week with your children asking Him to help you love Him. Below you will find some verses and a family activity to help you ponder the fact that our right response to God’s love is to love Him in return.

May the Lord help us all to love Him first!

Verses + Family Activity

• Matthew 22:34-38
• Deuteronomy 6:5
• Psalm 136:26
• 1 John 5:3
• John 14:15
• Psalm 63:3

Family Activity (Choose one or more):
Make Psalm 63:3 personal by praising the Lord with your lips.

• Take a walk together. Notice the beauty around you. Take turns praising the Lord for the different things you see, hear, and smell in His creation.
• Enjoy a hymn sing, or sing your favorite worship songs, together.
• Share some of your favorite Bible verses or passages with each other.

Because He first loved us, may love overflow from our hearts and pour out in daily praise to the Lord with our lips!