There is an old hymn that says, “Oh how I love Jesus… because He first loved me.”
As a little girl, I loved the first part of that song. I loved to love Jesus. I loved how the “oh” could stretch—low and soft at first, then rising, swelling, soaring. But when I hit the line “because He first loved me,” something in my heart resisted.
Why did my love for Him have to be transactional?
Why couldn’t I just love Him because I love Him?
Even then, I sensed something deeper—something holy—stirring beneath the words.
Love Is More Than a Feeling—It Is an Action
Scripture is honest with us. Jesus Himself said in Matthew 5:46 and Luke 6:32 that loving someone who loves you back is easy—even sinners do that. Real love, biblical love, is proven when it costs us something.
Deuteronomy 6:5 commands us to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and might. Not part. Not leftovers. All.
Jesus made it even clearer in John 14:15:
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
And 2 John 1:6 defines love plainly:
“This is love, that we walk according to His commandments.”
Even as a child, I understood this much—love moves. Love obeys. Love does something.
But as I’ve grown in Christ, especially here in our faith community in Garland, Texas and the surrounding area, I’ve learned that love goes even deeper than obedience.
Love as Worship, Not Just Obedience
There is a kind of love that is worship.
Not gifts.
Not acts of service.
Not even quality time.
I’m talking about love that comes from the deep ache of the soul—the kind that bows.
In America, including places like Plano, Richardson, Murphy, and Wylie, we understand worship when it comes to sports, careers, success, and even ourselves. We give our time, our money, and our attention freely to what we value most.
But worshiping a King? That’s different.
We love the idea of God as Father—and He is.
We love the closeness of friendship with Him—and that’s biblical.
But He is also King.
And kingship demands allegiance.
To call Him King means I am not.
It means my will steps aside.
My instincts take a back seat.
My leadership bows.
That kind of surrender goes against everything our culture teaches us—from childhood all the way through adulthood in Dallas County, Collin County, and Rockwall County. We’re taught to lead, to rely on ourselves, to trust our own understanding.
But worship says: I choose to follow.
Placing My Best at the Feet of the King
True worship isn’t just bringing God our pain—it’s bringing Him our praise.
So often, I bring Him my hurts, my mistakes, my unanswered questions. And He takes them—every time. But worship asks a harder question:
Am I only giving Him what’s left over?
What about my best?
The small wins:
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When my child thinks my dessert is the best at Thanksgiving
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When my boss recognizes unseen sacrifice
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When my work is acknowledged after hours of rewriting and refining
The big wins:
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Seeing my son succeed after seasons of heartbreak
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Prayers answered after years of tears
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Promises fulfilled after long waiting
Like Abraham offering Isaac.
Like Hannah offering Samuel.
A Question We All Wrestle With
“God, You gave this to me… why am I giving it back?”
Because worship says:
Everything I prize belongs to You.
My crowns.
My accolades.
My first fruits.
Not because He demands it—but because I love Him.
When Love Chooses His Way Over Mine
In worship, my ways don’t step aside because God is overpowering.
They step aside because I freely surrender.
This is not worship that only makes sense logically.
This is not worship I can fully reason through.
This is worship born out of love.
Nothing Can Separate Us From His Love
Romans 8 asks the question every believer eventually faces:
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”
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A child who walks away?
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A broken marriage?
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A financial crisis?
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Illness?
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Persecution?
Paul’s answer is unshakable:
“In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.”
Nothing—absolutely nothing—can separate us from the love of God found in Christ Jesus.
Love Expressed at His Feet
That hymn I resisted as a child was drawn from 1 John 4:19:
“We love Him, because He first loved us.”
No matter how much I want to prove my love for Him, the truth remains—I can only love Him because He loved me first.
He loved me in my rebellion.
He loved me in my weakness.
He loved me while I was still a sinner.
So today, I invite you—whether you’re in Garland, Plano, Richardson, Murphy, or Wylie—to find a place to lay your crown down.
To move self aside.
To put Him where He belongs.
To worship Him not just with words, but with your life.
That is Love Expressed.
