This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:10
True Love is the Father. So we need the Father to love. How can we think we can love without Him? We need Him to teach us. The way we do this is regular time spent intimately with Him and time in His Word, which is the revelation of Himself. One of my very good friends described Scripture as one giant love story about God and the church. I love that. From beginning to end, Scripture is about God's plan of redemption through Jesus. He loves us so much.
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God because God is love. 1 John 4:7-8
So when you are struggling loving another or feel you do not understand how to love, look to God. Spend more intimate time with Him talking to Him, listening to Him, understanding Him who is perfect love. To fully love another, you need to know how much the Father loves you. You have to realize how broken and filthy with sin and selfishness you were when God extended grace. Agape. Unconditional love is totally undeserved. God would be justified in not saving any of us because we rebelled from communion with Him. We naturally have chosen death because we love ourselves instead of the One who created us. But He did love us. He sent His Son to die for us. That is so cliche, but unless you truly understand it and accept it, you are going to fail in loving others because you will not understand what love truly is. We literally cannot love without Love.
Love is not dependent on the other person because God extends love to everyone regardless of who they are (Galatians 3:28). Love is patient because even when we run from God, He will extend open arms upon our return (Luke 15:11-32). Love endures just like God's love cannot be taken away from us by anything of this world (Romans 8:38-39). Love is kind like God (1 Corinthians 13:4). Love is slow to anger like God (Numbers 14:18). Love is God. So to know love, we must know God.
