First Love Shared

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” — John 15:12 (NIV)

Love is a beautiful gift. We feel it in friendships, family bonds, romantic relationships, and even in the joy of caring for pets. Our bodies respond with delight, and our hearts long to be near those we cherish. But human love, for all its beauty, is fragile. It can falter, fracture, and fade.

Christ’s love is different. It is whole, healing, and unwavering. It doesn’t wait for us to be perfect or even ready—it meets us where we are. Before we ever knew to ask for it, Christ loved us (1 John 4:19). Before we could respond, he had already extended grace. That’s the kind of love we’re invited to embody and extend. 

Even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard. When we stumble, and when we struggle to love the one who frustrates or wounds us, Christ’s love reminds us: we were loved first. And that first love is what enables us to try again.

To love as Christ loves is not simply to feel affection—it is to choose mercy, to offer forgiveness, to welcome the stranger, and to see the sacred in every person. As Ephesians 5:1-2 reminds us, we are called to “follow God’s example… and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us.” It is essential to remember that we were loved into being, and that love continues to pursue us. Christ’s love is not earned; it is given. Freely. Fully. First.

When we love others, we do so not from scarcity, but from the overflow of a love that found us first. We love because we have been loved—deeply, eternally, and without condition.

So let us love one another—not as a duty, but as a response to the love that found us first. Let’s use love to diffuse tension, mend broken relationships, and remind others that they are not alone.

God of boundless love, thank you for loving us before we knew your name. Thank you for seeking us, calling us, and embracing us with grace that goes before. Teach us to love as you love—not with conditions, but with compassion. Help us to see others as you see them: beloved, worthy, and held. May our lives reflect the love that first found us, and may we carry that love into every relationship, every moment, every place. Amen.

Peace & Grace,

Pastor Tim