1 John 4:7: Love That Starts with Beloved
"Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God."
— 1 John 4:7
John begins with "Beloved" before he commands, "let us love one another." That order matters. Scripture does not ask you to manufacture love out of emptiness; it calls you to let received love become shared love. The command to love others stands on the deeper truth that you yourself are first addressed as one who is loved by God.