“We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19)  

There’s no light on planet Earth that doesn’t come from the sun; and there’s no true love for Christ that doesn’t come from the Lord Himself. Our love must come from the overflowing fountain of God’s infinite love. This must be your moment-by-moment revelation, if you are to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus laid hold of you (Philippians 3:12). It must always be your unshakable conviction, that you love Him for no other reason, than because He first loved you. 

 Any sinner can have a certain respect for God, but only saints have the love of God poured into their hearts by the indwelling Holy Spirit (Romans 5:1). Our love had for its parent, the love of God shed abroad in our hearts: but after it’s born of God, it must also be nourished by Him. Love is an exotic plant which doesn’t grow naturally in human soil. It must be watered from above. Love to Christ is a flower of a delicate nature, and if it only received nourishment from the rock of our hearts, it would soon wither. Love must feed on love. The very soul and life of our love to God is His love to us. “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:8). 

 "I love thee, Lord, but with no love of mine, For I have none to give; I love thee, Lord; but all the love is thine, For by thy love I live. I am as nothing, and rejoice to be Emptied, and lost, and swallowed up in thee." "