Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

…Whoever loves God must also love his brother. … This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out His commands. (1 John 4:21, 5:2)

This is a really cool cycle! I know I love God because I obey His command to love others, which I can only do because I love God and obey His commands.

Here’s the cycle breaker: If I don’t love others, it’s a clear indications that I don’t love God, and the cycle of love-obedience-love is shattered.

Loving God is the natural fuel to obey Him. He is love. He demonstrated this by loving unloveable, sinful me. If He loved me, how could I do anything less than love Him? If I truly love Him, I will naturally want to obey Him. His commands aren’t difficult because He empowers me to do them. His command is to be like Him—He is love so I must love.

I know I am loving God because I am loving others. I can only love others because the love of God is in me. This love inspires me to obey Him and love others. This obedience draws me closer to God, which fuels me for even greater love.

Love fuels my obedience. Obedience fuels my love. And this virtuous cycle can go on and on and on and on and on!

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎