“We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:5
In Ruth we find the same concept as she placed herself at the feet of Boaz with a heart and mind for him. She trusted the process of choosing and pursuing him as her kinsman-redeemer. There is no support in Scripture that they spent a lot of time getting to know each other. In contrast, it seems that there were only three meetings before He redeemed her. The first was their introduction to each other. The second was his invitation to be fed at his table which she accepted. The third was her decision to choose him for the rest of her life. Ruth’s knowledge of Boaz was extremely limited but regardless she chose him. Ruth knew she had her entire life to experience her kinsman-redeemer and get to know him more intimately through this union.
The only other relationship that is similar to this one-sided love before love is returned is the birthing process. With each of my babies, I have preserved that sacred moment when they were born into my family and placed upon me. There is no other experience more burned upon my heart than the birth of my children. They were born with hearts that had yet to experience love. The love they developed was their response to the love they received. The birth came first and then the relationship followed.
Our pursuit of God will always start with His pursuit of us through the love He has and the love we desire. We are introduced to Him at which time He will always take the initiative and invite us to come to His table. We recognize Him as being the One who will return our love and redeem our lives. Once we accept His invitation and take His extended hand to walk with Him we will experience the love first hand. In turn, through spending time with Him we will develop the same intimate love for Him that comes so naturally through Him. It is only through the intimate time spent with my children that they have developed the love for me that I originally had for them. They love because they were first loved.
We love because He first loved us!
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