Episode 69: Taking the initiative
Download MP3As the apostle Paul famously wrote, “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). John knows this too. He might counsel his readers to love one another, but is under no illusions that this is just a matter of drawing on the better angels of their nature. Rather, any ability we have to love one another truly has its origin in God, who took the initiative: “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
As the apostle Paul famously wrote, “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). John knows this too. He might counsel his readers to love one another, but is under no illusions that this is just a matter of drawing on the better angels of their nature. Rather, any ability we have to love one another truly has its origin in God, who took the initiative: “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
