1 John 4:8-10
"Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
Ho theos agape estin — God is love: not merely that God has love or acts with love, but that love is His essential nature. The proof: the incarnation and the cross. Love was not initiated by us — God loved first (autos protos egapesen hemas). The initiative is always from God.
1 John 4:18-19
"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us."
Perfect love expels fear (ekballei ton phobon). Fear has 'punishment' (kolasin) — it is the fear of judgment. When we know we are loved by God, the fear of judgment disappears. We love because we were loved — love is a response, not an initiative.