The Bible says here in is love. Not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. I want you to read on down the next verse and then one more verse after that. The Bible says beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. Then I want you to look down at this last verse. In verse 19 is the last verse here in this pasture. Scripture says we love Him simply we love Him because he first loved us. I want to just give you a couple of thoughts this evening. Some things I was thinking about on the way of the church house kristen drove so I prayed. Not because she drove, but I wanted to get what the Lord is going to try to help us with a little bit this evening because she asked me said why are you praying? Is it because I’m driving? I said no, but what is love? I say I love certain football teams. I say I love certain basketball teams. I love my wife, I love my children. And I think every one of you that are married know what that feeling is to love your spouse, love your children. You know what it is to love certain types of food. You know what it is to love certain places or certain events and certain things you just love to go to. So we think we know what love is, but do we really know what love is? The Bible says herein is love encompassed. This is what love is. If you’re going to define love, this is what love is. Love is that God sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. I want you to think about that for just a moment. Think about it in this vein, okay? Think about it’s easy for me to love you and for you to love me sometimes. But it’s easy because you’re my brothers and sisters in Christ and most of the time we see each other with a smile. We greet each other with a smile, we shake hands, we say friendly things to each other. It’s easy for us to kind of love each other. It’s easy for me to love my wife. She’s a beautiful lady. She is sweet, she’s a great cook. Amen. She is a wonderful gal. I mean everything. There’s not a thing about her that I don’t like except her 70s garb that she has that she wears from time to time. Other than that, I love everything about her. Amen. I love her and I know what that feeling is like. But we also know what it’s like not to love somebody. Also know what it’s like not to really like some people. There are some people that come into the store that rob from us on a daily basis. I know who they are. I see them, I identify them. I do my best to try to not to get them to steal out of the store because it drives me up the wall and sometimes I see them coming in. I don’t have a real fond liking for them, but I should I should love them. As a Christian, I know that sometimes I have a hard time with that. But we know what it’s like to not like people. But I want you to think about this. God loved us when we were unlikable, when we were sinners, when we were taking his name in vain, when we were doing things that was directly opposed to everything that he stood for. God still loved me and God still loved you. Herein is love. Not that we loved God, but that he loved us. He loved us when I was unlovable and sent His Son to die on an old rugged cross for my sins because he has a love that doesn’t stop. He doesn’t love me based upon how I treat Him. He doesn’t love me based upon the fact that I may have stolen from Him, or I may not like the way he looks, or I may not like the things that he does. He doesn’t love me based upon how I treat Him. He loves me just as if I’ve never sinned as a Christian, he loves me. He loved me when I couldn’t love Him. He loved me when I didn’t know Him. He loved me when I didn’t care about Him. God loved me when I was unlovable. Think about that. God loved you when you was unloved. Now he’s not. A one of you here this evening that I think is unlovable. I think we’re all lovable. Amen. Some of us there’s more to love than others. Amen. Especially after Christmas dinner. I know I’ve got a little bit more about me to love. We all love each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. So it’s not one of you here that I can say, well, I don’t like this person. I like that I love you guys because the Lord has put that in my heart to love my brothers and sisters in Christ. But you know where that came from? That came from God. And God loved me when I was unlawful. God loved me when I did not care of whether I was going to church or whether it was not going to church, whether I was doing right, whether it was not doing right when I was living in sins, when I was doing things I deserved, a devil’s hell. But God loved me just the same. His love was unconditional. Would you agree with me there? Okay, so here’s the point. That’s my life verse. That’s the verse that I use. I nail down my salvation here in his love. Not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent His Son to be the pitiation for our sins. But it goes on to say this beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. So think about how God loved you. Not when you’re all cleaned up and in church, not when you’re singing praises to the Lord. Not when you’re testifying to how good God is. Not when you’re witnessing to the fact of God’s grace and God’s goodness and God’s mercy, but when you were unlovable, God loved you. That’s how we are to love. And it’s hard sometimes, very hard for me to love somebody that’s not good to me. It’s easy for me to love you all because you all good to me. Amen. At least that’s what I know. What about the people that aren’t so good to us? What about the people that every time we turn around, they’re saying something bad about us? Every time we turn around, they’re dragging our name through the mud? What about the times when they have nothing nice to say about us? Do we still love them? Here’s what I would say beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. It’s not easy, but we ought to love one another. There have been some folks that I’ve gone to church with who have maybe not treated me fairly. I guess, in my estimation, in my thought process, maybe not always given me the benefit of doubt or loved me and maybe gloried in the fact that I had some unfortunate things happen in my life and they just couldn’t see past things, to be able to see God’s goodness. And sometimes as a Christian, that hurts your feelings and you get upset and sometimes it starts festering a little bit, doesn’t it? Start creating a little resentment in your heart. But you know what? God never had resentment towards us. God loved us no matter what, no matter how mean we were, no matter how bad we were, no matter how ugly we were, god still loved us. So I ask you tonight, as I ask myself, and this is the only thing I wanted to give to you is this if God loved us that much, shouldn’t we try to love one another that much? Amen. You’re thinking about somebody right now that you said, well, sometimes I just have a hard time loving that person. I know it because it’s probably me. But you’re thinking about that person I’m having a hard time with. I don’t know, brother Mark. You say we’re supposed to love everybody, but it’s hard to love this person. I understand that sometimes it is. But if God loved you, shouldn’t we love them? No greater love, no greater love has any man ever seen in the love of God. Amen. Herein is love, and herein is our love made perfect. Verse 17 says that we may have boldness in the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love cast us out. Fear because fear hath torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love. We love him. Why? Because he first loved us. So here’s the kicker to the whole thing this evening. Those people that you find hard to love, you love them anyway. They get their heart right with God. They get saved. They turn their life over to Jesus Christ. Guess what? They probably start loving you. And you’ll start loving them here in his love. Not that we loved God, but that he loved us and gave his Son to be a prophetication for our sins. I’m grateful for that tonight. Aren’t you one to give you a little truth, give you a little encouragement from the word of God. That’s my verse. I claim that verse. That’s my verse. It lets me know that I’m saved. I’m on my way to heaven. Because he first loved me. He loved me so much how much do you love you, brother Mark? He loved me so much that sin is the only begotten Son of the world. That who spare believes in should not perish, but have everlasting life. That’s how much he loved me. How much did you love? You was saying he met a blessing. God loved you so much that he gave his Son for our sins. What a blessing. Let’s stand. We’ll be dismissed with a word of prayer. I promise the pastor I would just give you some encouragement and help you. And that’s what we’ll do to see.