our daily bread

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Dexu Xia

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Jul 17, 2017, 2:15:21 AM7/17/17

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Going First

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

We worked patiently to help our son heal and adjust to his new life with our family. Trauma from his early days in an orphanage was fueling some negative behaviors. While I had enormous compassion for the hardships he experienced in his early days, I felt myself begin to withdraw from him emotionally because of those behaviors. Ashamed, I shared my struggle with his therapist. Her gentle reply hit home: “He needs you to go first . . . to show him he’s worthy of love before he’ll be able to act like it.”

John pushes the recipients of his letter to an incredible depth of love, citing God’s love as both the source and the reason for loving one another (1 John 4:7, 11). I admit I often fail to show such love to others, whether strangers, friends, or my own children. Yet John’s words spark in me renewed desire and ability to do so: God went first. He sent His Son to demonstrate the fullness of His love for each of us. I’m so thankful He doesn’t respond as we all are prone to do by withdrawing His heart from us.

Though our sinful actions don’t invite God’s love, He is unwavering in offering it to us (Rom. 5:8). His “go-first” love compels us to love one another in response to, and as a reflection of, that love.

Thank You, Lord, for loving me in spite of my sin. Help me to “go first” in loving others.

God loved us first so we can love others.

先爱

我们爱，因为上帝先爱我们。-约翰一书4章19节

对于我们刚收养的儿子，我们怀着极大的耐心，希望抚平他内心的创伤，帮助他融入我们这个家庭展开新生活。然而，他先前在育幼院所受到的伤害，仍不时地挑起他的负面行为。虽然我同情他过去的遭遇，但他的那些坏行为，却让我对他日渐冷淡。为此，我感到十分内疚，便和儿子的治疗师谈谈这样的困境。她温柔的回复切中要点：“他需要妳先爱他⋯⋯在他并不可爱的时候，让他明白，他值得被爱。”

使徒约翰将读者带到极深的爱中，并阐释彼此相爱的缘由是因为上帝的爱（约翰一书4章7、11节）。我承认自己无法时常以上帝的爱去爱他人，无论是陌生人、朋友，或是自己的孩子。然而，约翰的话激励了我，上帝先爱我们，挑旺了我心中的爱，并让我有能力去爱人。上帝差遣祂的儿子，对我们每个人展现祂完全的爱。我很感谢上帝，因祂不像我们那么容易就收回祂的爱。

虽然我们的罪恶行为不值得上帝爱我们，但祂对我们的爱却永不动摇（罗马书5章8节）。上帝先爱我们，不但激励我们以彼此相爱做为回应，更能藉此将上帝的爱表明出来。

亲爱的主，纵使我有罪，但感谢祢仍然爱我。
求祢帮助我，愿意先爱他人。