The Love That Found Us First

TAGLINE: GOD’S LOVE IS NOT A REACTION TO OUR GOODNESS - IT IS THE RESCUE OF OUR BROKENNESS.

OPENING ILLUSTRATION: THE EMPTY CHAIR

A hospice chaplain once told the story of an elderly man who kept an empty chair beside his bed. When asked why, the man said, “My daughter thinks it’s for visitors. But it’s really for Jesus. I keep it there to remind myself that His love is the only love that has never left me.”

He paused and added, “People come and go. Feelings rise and fall. But that chair reminds me that the love of Christ is the only love that has stayed.”

Valentine’s Day celebrates the LOVES THAT ENTER OUR LIVES. The gospel celebrates the LOVE THAT NEVER LEAVES.

TEXT: 1 JOHN 4:9–10

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world… not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

Valentine’s Day magnifies a truth every human heart already knows: we were CREATED FOR LOVE, ACHE FOR LOVE, and are SHAPED BY THE LOVE WE PURSUE.

But Scripture confronts us with a deeper reality: human love is fragile, but God’s love is faithful; human love is conditional, but God’s love is covenantal; human love is often reactive, but God’s love is initiating.

This is the Bible’s definition of love—not a feeling, not a holiday, not a romance, but a revelation.

WHAT DOES GOD’S LOVE DEMONSTRATE?

1. GOD’S LOVE IS INITIATING — “NOT THAT WE LOVED GOD…”

Valentine’s Day often celebrates mutual affection: “You love me, and I love you.” But God’s love begins in a different place: HE LOVED US WHEN WE DID NOT LOVE HIM.

• Before we prayed a prayer

• Before we cleaned up our lives

• Before we desired Him

• Before we even acknowledged Him

God MOVED TOWARD US.

Human love often waits for a spark. God’s love creates the spark.

Human love responds to BEAUTY. God’s love responds to BROKENNESS.

Human love says, “I love you because…” God’s love says, “I love you in spite of…”

This is the LOVE THAT FOUND US FIRST.

ILLUSTRATION: A shepherd does not wait for a lost sheep to find its way home. He leaves the ninety-nine and goes after the one. The rescue begins with the shepherd, not the sheep. God’s love is NOT A RESPONSE TO OUR GOODNESS. It is the RESCUE OF OUR LOSTNESS.

Valentine’s Day says: “LOVE IS MUTUAL.”

The gospel says: “LOVE IS MERCIFUL.”

2. GOD’S LOVE IS MANIFEST — “GOD SENT HIS SON…”

Love is not proven by words but by WOUNDS. Not by sentiment but by SACRIFICE.

God did not send:

• An angel

• A prophet

• A message

• A symbol

He sent HIS SON.

The CROSS is God’s Valentine to the world—written not in ink but in BLOOD.

On Valentine’s Day, people give gifts to show AFFECTION.

God gave the greatest gift to show REDEMPTION.

He did not love us from a distance. He loved us into the world, into our condition, into our sin, into our death, and out of the grave.

ILLUSTRATION: A lighthouse is not built to be admired from afar—it is built to be seen in the storm. Its purpose is NOT DECORATION BUT DIRECTION. It shines so sailors know where safety is. God’s love is not hidden in heaven. It shines in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the lighthouse in our storm, the visible proof that God has not abandoned us.

Valentine’s Day says: “SHOW LOVE WITH GIFTS.”

The gospel says: “GOD SHOWED LOVE WITH HIS SON.”

3. GOD’S LOVE IS COSTLY — “TO BE THE PROPITIATION FOR OUR SINS.”

This is the part of love our culture avoids.

We want love without holiness. Affection without accountability. Warmth without repentance. Comfort without the cross.

But God’s love is not indulgent—it is intervening. Not permissive—it is purifying. Not sentimental—it is sacrificial. Christ did not die as an example—He died as a substitute.

PROPITIATION MEANS:

• Sin is real

• Wrath is real

• Judgment is real

• And Jesus stepped into all of it

Love does not ignore sin; love pays for it. Love does not excuse brokenness; love heals it. Love does not affirm darkness; love enters it with light.

This is NOT HALLMARK LOVE. This is HOLY LOVE.

ILLUSTRATION: A judge who steps down from the bench, removes his robe, and takes the sentence in place of the guilty. He does not merely sympathize—he SUBSTITUTES. That is what Jesus did. This is LOVE THAT BLEEDS. This is LOVE THAT SAVES.

Valentine’s Day says: “LOVE FEELS GOOD.”

The gospel says: “LOVE PAYS THE PRICE.”

4. GOD’S LOVE IS TRANSFORMING — “IF GOD SO LOVED US…”