Christ’s disciples learn to love for the sake of love. God loves us not because of who we are but because of who He is. God is love. It is expressed to us as mercy and grace. As a Christian we love because of who we are, not because of who the other person is or what they can give us in return. To come to the place that we love out of who we are is evidence of the shaping work of the Spirit in our lives.
“We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” 1 John 4:16 (NASB)
