Bede, on 1John 4:19

“Let us therefore love God, because God first hath loved us.”

“Therefore, let us love God, etc. Let us love because He first loved us. For how could we love unless He had first loved us? Hence He Himself says in the Gospel: "You did not choose me, but I chose you" (John 15). Thus, we will be perfect in charity if, just as He first loved us for the sake of our own salvation, so we also love Him solely for the sake of love. But because there are those who love God only in words, it is wisely added:”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.