Born Free: 16 Principles to Help You Be FreeНамуна

Principle 13: You Can’t Love Until You Have Been Loved

Power principle number thirteen: You can’t love until you have been loved. And even then, you can only love to the degree to which you have been loved. “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16). “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you. . . .” (John 13:34). “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends . . .” (John 15:13-14).

Free people are people who manifest love and forgiveness. You will find freedom in direct proportion to how much you manifest those qualities. Love is the active side of freedom, and forgiveness is its passive side. But you can’t just turn the love or forgiveness on. You can only love when you have been loved, and you can only forgive when you have been forgiven.

There was a farm boy by the name of Johnny. He loved Jamie for a long time and never told her. Finally, he got up his courage and said, “Jamie, I have been loving you for a long time, and I would be mighty proud if you would be my wife.” She said, “Johnny, I also have been loving you for a long time, and I would be proud to be your wife.” That night Johnny went home and knelt beside his bed, looked up at the stars, and said, “Lord, I ain’t got nothin’ against nobody now!”

God provided the freedom by forgiving you and by loving you. And you can’t get it any other place. So instead of always trying to do things for him, just be still and let him love you.