Before we can love others, we must feel and understand how deeply God loves us. Ephesians 3:17-18 says, “I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts, living within you as you trust in Him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love; and may you be able to feel and understand, as all God’s children should, how long, how wide, how deep, and how high His love really is; and to experience this love for yourselves.” (The Living Bible, emphasis added)
Circle the words feel, understand, and experience in that passage. God wants us to feel His love, and He wants us to understand His love. Why? 1 John 4:19 says that we love because God first loved us. Why is it important to feel loved by God? Because unloved people are often unloving people. When I do not feel genuinely loved, I do not feel like giving love. So first we have to experience God’s love ourselves. Jesus said, “Love each other as I have loved you.” (John 15:12) That is the model.
-- Rick Warren in “God’s Power to Change Your Life”
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