Five Principles of God's Love

Principle 2: We are commanded and empowered to love.

We are to love God. This is basic and foundational to all else. It is the greatest of all commandments. The source of our love is found in God Himself.

We are to love others. This is especially commanded to love other Christians. God's command is to love our neighbors. We are promised that God Himself will be our teacher.

We are to love ourselves. In order to love your neighbor you must first love yourself. This is not referring to a proud, self-seeking, self-centered type of love. Rather, it is a healthy appreciation of who we are as unique persons created in the image of God. If we cannot accept ourselves, how can we accept others, much less, love them?

We must love our enemies. As if the previous commands are not difficult enough, Jesus Christ makes a greater demand --love your enemies. 

This unusual demand leads us to the third principle about God's love...