FEBRUARY, 
Survival en route: God's Love For Sinners 

二月，
在旅程中生存：神对罪人的爱

2月1日；
约翰一书 4: 7-21;
唱诗：诗篇 116:1, 8

我们爱，因为神先爱我们。（约1 4:19）

在这个世界上，做到第一是一件大事。在人生路上，许多人总是力求在某件事上做到最好。在奥运会上，银牌和铜牌并不具有吸引力，金牌才最有价值。甚至有一本子的世界记录要定期更新，因为记录总是被打破。次好没有意义。

如今追求卓越并没有什么错，无论我们做什么都应该全力以赴。但是，我们的努力不应是为了寻求自己的荣耀，相反，无论我们做什么事，都是为了寻求神的荣耀和邻舍的益处。

在涉及到理解爱这一点上尤其如此。我们倾向于认为要先付出爱，才有可能获得回报。这点经常被应用于神：如果我们爱神，祂才会爱我们。我们的爱在先，并且必然希望神也会爱我们。

在使徒约翰的第一封书信中，他明确指出，我们的爱是完全神圣的神迹。神先爱了我们，祂的爱改变了我们的生命。约翰写道，“不是我们爱神，乃是神爱我们”（约1 4:10）。今天的证道经文清楚地告诉我们，我们爱，是因为神先爱了我们，主动权是属于神的。

我们的整个救恩完全取决于神在祂爱子耶稣基督里的爱，知道并体验这一点对我们来说非常重要。神的爱触摸并改变我们，我们真正的安慰是祂先爱了我们。

思考问题：为什么承认并经历神先爱我们是至关重要的？

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February 1
1John 4:7-21
Song:Psalm 116:1，8

HE FIRST LOVED US

"We love because he first loved us."（1John 4:19)

Being first is a big deal in this world. En route, many people are always striving to be first and best at something. In the Olympic Games, silver and bronze medals are not desirable; it is gold that counts. There is even a book of world records that must be updated regularly because the records are always being broken.Second best has no meaning.

Now there is nothing wrong with striving for excellence. We should all do our best at whatever we attempt.But our striving should not be a seeking of our own glory; rather, we must seek the glory of God and the benefit of our neighbor in all that we do.

This is especially true when it comes to understanding love. We tend to think that we must love first and that this love of ours will perhaps be reciprocated.This is often applied to God: if we love God, he will love us in return. Our love comes first, and then we must hope that God will love us，too.

In his first letter, the apostle John makes it quite clear that our love is an outrightly divine miracle. God loved us first, and his love transforms our lives. John writes, "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us" (1John 4:10). And today's highlighted passage plainly tells us that we love because he first loved us. The initiative belongs to the Lord.

It is very important for us to know and experience that our entire salvation rests fully on the love of God in Jesus Christ, his Son.His love alone touches and changes us, and our true comfort is that he loved us first.

Question: Why is it crucial to confess and experience that God loved us first?