This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (I John 4:10)
Babies don’t know how to
love. From the little I’ve heard about them; they don’t even realize that the
things that make them feel comfortable or happy are separate from themselves. They
are entirely narcissists. According to an article in Psychology Today, around
the age of two, they begin to notice and learn about love. And if they don’t
learn enough about it within the next few years, they are likely to be
emotionally handicapped. We learn to love because someone else loves us.
Ultimately, of course, God is the teacher. He shows love to those babies who
need to learn to love by giving them parents whose job it is to teach what they
have learned. That’s how it’s designed to work, even though humans break the
design and fail in their responsibilities.
As babies grow into
children, they’re taught things like sharing, manners, and basic social skills,
all of which involve learning to love those who aren’t our people. They begin
to learn, though they may not realize it, that love can require sacrifice. They
may also begin to learn that some sorts of love don’t work. As teens, hormones get in the way, but they
begin to learn about partnering. In other words, all through our lives, we are
learning how to love. It’s not natural behavior. It’s learned, and sometimes
our teachers may teach by giving us a bad example as much as by good.
And as we grow up, if our
parents and those around us are doing their jobs right, they will introduce us
(as early as possible) to the One who teaches us all how to love.
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