Our Daily Devotion

“We love because he first loved us.” — 1 John 4:19

Most of us grew up learning a quiet, unspoken rule: love is something you earn. Do well, and it’s given. Fall short, and it feels withdrawn. Over time, that thinking can drift into our faith, and without realizing it, we begin to treat God the same way—like His love rises and falls with our performance.

But Scripture cuts straight through that idea.

“We love because He first loved us.”

That’s not a suggestion—it’s a foundation.

Before you ever turned toward God, He had already turned toward you. Before your first prayer, before your first step of faith, before your first attempt to “get it right,” His love was already in motion. The cross settled that. The empty tomb confirmed it.

The apostle John understood this deeply. He didn’t define himself by what he did for Jesus, but by what Jesus had done for him. “The disciple whom Jesus loved.” That’s where he planted his identity—and that’s where we’re meant to stand too.

Here’s the truth we sometimes forget: you don’t work your way into God’s love. You live from it.

You woke up this morning already loved. Already known. Already held. Not because you earned it yesterday, and not because you’ll perform well today—but because God doesn’t change His mind about you.

So don’t start your day trying to prove something.

Start by receiving something.

Let your love, your obedience, your faithfulness… all of it… flow from the steady, unshakable truth that He loved you first.

 
Walk in faith, rest in grace, and trust the One who walks beside you.
In His love and grace,

ray mileur

“Helping believers walk closer to Jesus, one day at a time.”
www.raymileurministries.com