This is love: not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. —1 John 4:10.
God loved us first! He sent his Son to save us regardless of our decision to believe or reject his grace. But what does Jesus being an atoning sacrifice for our sins mean? It means that Jesus’ sacrifice removes our sins and allows us to be “at one” with God again, presented to the Father by the Son as holy and blameless and above reproach before him (Colossians 1:22). God loved us first! We were once offenders of God’s gracious holiness — we were weak, ungodly, sinners, and enemies (Romans 5:6-10) of God and his holiness — yet God paid the cost to bring us back to Himself in holiness and honor. God loved us first!