Why Do You Love Me?

It's not an uncommon question. You're feeling a little ... self-deprecatory. You need some reassurance from a loved one. "Why do you love me?" In a similar vein, we read this.

We love Him, because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

As if God asked, "Why do you love Me?" and we answered, "Because You first loved us." Except ...

Most modern translations don't translate it that way. Vincent Word Studies says, "The best texts omit 'Him.'" The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary says, "him — omitted in the oldest manuscripts." Most translations say, "We love because He first loved us." That's kind of abrupt, isn't it? We love at all because He loved first. "Wait ... can't we love on our own?" Apparently not. And it makes sense when we look back at an earlier verse where we read the famous, "God is love" (1 John 4:7). God is love. He defines love. So ... if God defines love ... God is love ... then obviously we couldn't love if He didn't first love us.

We've messed with love a lot. We've diminished it to a feeling ... generally with sex involved. We've used it as a weapon ("If you loved me, you'd ...") and made it a plaything. God's version ... the only real version ... is to sacrifice self for the best for others. Like Jesus did (Php 2:5-8). Like we're supposed to (John 13:34; John 15:12). Scripture says, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change" (James 1:17) Love would qualify as a "good gift." Just remember ... it's not there because you generate it. Why do I love you? Because He first loved me.